Dumbledore's Army and the Collection of Days
by PJHope
Summary: A Post-DH Canon-compliant story about the days following the Battle of Hogwarts until school begins in September. The story will be told from multiple POVs including, but not limited to: Ginny, Hermione, Ron, Luna, Draco, Neville, Lavender, Seamus, Dean and, of course, Harry. Rated T with some chapters rated T (maybe 16 and up?) after Chapter 9.
1. Solace - Ginny

_Author's Note:_

Welcome to my first foray into writing Fan Fiction! I hope you enjoy it!

**I do not own Harry Potter or related works**

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**May 3- Solace**

**Ginny**

_They were alive. _Her youngest older brother, her unofficial sister and the love of her life. They had survived. Against all odds, despite various rumors of their capture or death, there they were, sitting in the common room around the fireplace.

It almost could've been like old times, except that all three of them were dirty, covered in blood and ash and there was a big hole blown in the wall to their right. Another more subtle difference was that Hermione was curled up into her brother's arms. She wondered when this happened. They also both seemed to be crying.

She knew that she should be crying too. She should feel sad, but she wasn't yet. She was so relieved that they were alive. Not only the three that she looked upon from the middle of the girl's staircase, but her parents, and her four other brothers. Fred, was dead. _Fred was dead, Fred was dead._ She had said it a thousand times, trying to find the emotions she knew she should be feeling. But she just couldn't cry.

Luna had come into her dormitory around 11 in the morning and interrupted the morbid mantra she had been whispering to herself as she sat on her four-poster. Instead of being put off by Ginny's words, she smiled and said, "It's ok not to feel sad. You don't have to rush it. Grief has its own schedule. One day, you'll be sitting around playing a game or snogging Harry and it will hit you right here," she pointed to her chest "and then you'll think you are going to die. But you won't."

She said all of this very simply, in true Luna fashion, and then peeled off her torn, stained robes and underclothes. Even though Ginny had shared a dormitory with four other girls for six years, they were all much more modest about getting undressed in front of each other. Luna stood in front of her in only a pair blue and gold striped knickers, seemingly oblivious to Ginny's uncomfortable blush and started waving her wand at the various injuries covering her pale skin.

Suddenly, Ginny burst into tears. Luna looked up.

"Oh, is it happening already?" she asked interested.

Ginny shook her head, got up and pulled the almost naked Luna into a tight hug.

"I'm so happy you are alive," she sobbed.

Luna did not seem taken aback by embracing her close friend while wearing so little. Instead she patted her on the back and said, "Me too. I'm glad we are both alive."

Ginny released her and made a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob. Once Luna had taken care of her injuries, Ginny gave her an old Weasley jumper and a pair of pajama pants and they had both fallen asleep in the empty dormitory for a few hours.

When she woke up, Luna was gone and Ginny felt sore and extremely hungry. It took about a full minute before she remembered everything that happened.

_Fred is dead. Fred is dead. Fred is dead._

Still nothing.

She tried to remember what Luna said about grief while she rolled out of bed, pulled on fresh robes and made her way to the common room.

There were a few other people in the common room besides the three, but everyone was very quiet. She saw Seamus and his mother talking in quiet murmurs to each other while she smoothed back his hair lovingly. She stared at them. _Fred is dead, Fred is dead, Fred is dead. _Suddenly she let out a sound between a hiccup and a laugh. _Merlin, I'm barking. _The noise made the three on the couch turn to look at her. She looked at back at them, staring each one in the face in turn. To her surprise, Ron was the first to get up. He was moving in slow motion and his appearance unnerved her. He was so thin and he was covered head to toe in dirt, except for a few streaks of skin on his cheeks made clean from tears.

He looked up at her from the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey," he said simply.

"Hey," she said back.

He held out a hand to her and she took it. His grip was firm as he pulled her down the stairs. When she reached the second step they were almost the same height and he looked her right in the eyes, "I am so effing glad you are ok," he said and hugged her fiercely, immediately starting to cry on her shoulder.

She smiled while she rubbed his back. _Leave it to Ron to make vulgarity sound so sincere._

"I'm so effing glad _you're _ok," she replied, making him choke out a laugh.

When she looked up she saw Hermione and Harry watching them. Hermione was smiling but tears were running silently down her face. Harry's face surprised her. He was looking at her with a fierce determination. His jaw was set. It was like he was preparing for another battle.

She pulled out of her brother's grip and wiped away his tears. She felt like her mother when she did it, but it was a reflex. While she waited for her grief to come, she could take care of the others.

Ron looked at her curiously and then followed her gaze to look at Harry, then looked back at her.

"I reckon you can take care of yourself, eh?" he sniffed.

She raised her eyebrows at him in exaggerated surprise.

"Oh, have I proved myself then?"

He lightly punched her in the arm and she grabbed his fist and squeezed it.

"We're all going to be ok, Ron."

He nodded but didn't speak. Instead he turned away from her and looked at Hermione. Ginny wasn't sure what she saw on his face, but she nodded and walked over to them. Hermione beamed at Ginny and hugged her. Then she grabbed Ron's hand and they walked out of the common room.

Ginny looked over at Harry again. He was still frozen in the same position, staring at her with those dark green eyes she remembered so fondly, but that were now filled with a hardness she had never seen before.

There was so much tension building between them that Seamus and his mother, along with the few other students remaining, dispersed to dormitories or through the portrait hole. Ginny looked around and noticed they were alone, now she just had to break the tension.

"So what's new?" she said in such a light manner that Harry snorted with laughter.

He stood up and started moving towards her in slow motion, much like Ron did. She walked down the final two steps as he approached.

"Well, let's see," he started, his voice light but his gaze like that of a lion stalking its prey, "I fought in a war, died for a bit, came back to life, killed a dark wizard and then, just, you know, had a bit of a rest."

He was now a foot away from her.

"Sounds like you've been busy," she mused, wondering where this was going to go.

"A bit," he replied. He was six inches away. "It was all rather tedious, really."

She raised her eyebrows again. "Was it? Perhaps you should-"

But she never got to finish her sentence as Harry pressed his lips so hard into hers that their teeth clacked together. She felt his hands come up to hold either side of her face as he continued to kiss her, less forcefully but with just as much urgency. She felt lightheaded as she returned his fervent kisses with enthusiasm. Abruptly, he pulled away from her.

Before she could even think he said, "I love you so much, Ginny."

She looked at him, flushed and slightly dizzy. _Had she heard him correctly?_

He was looking at her as if he was waiting for an answer, but she couldn't remember what question he had asked. _Had he asked a question? No, he had said he loved her…oh!_

"I love you too!" she practically yelled at him.

He laughed lightly and it was such a pleasant sound. For a second he didn't look like a walking corpse. He leaned down and kissed her lightly on her closed lips.

"Sorry," he said, "I couldn't wait any longer to say it. All these months I worried I might never see you again and then, I had to walk into that forest and face him and I knew I'd be dead, but you were all I could think about. I love you so much and I'm never letting you go again."

Ginny was overwhelmed. In 24 hours she had seen Harry for the first time since her brother's wedding, she had almost been killed by Bellatrix Lestrange, who she had then watched die by her mother's hand, Fred had died, she had thought Harry had died and now she was in his arms listening to him confess his love for her.

"I need to sit down." Was all she could manage to say.

Harry was suddenly concerned, "Are you ok? Does anything hurt? Was it something I said?" He was now holding his arms out as if he would need to catch her at any moment.

She rolled her eyes at him and said, "Yes, I'm fine. I've just had a busy time of it as well, haven't I?"

Harry gave her a tight smile and then led her to the sofa. They sat and she leaned into the crook of his arm while he stroked her hair.

"Where is everyone else?" she asked suddenly, realizing she hadn't seen anyone except Ron since this morning.

"I think your parents went back home…with Fred," he added hesistantly. When she didn't respond he continued, "Bill went home to Fleur, Charlie is still here, I think he's helping Hagrid in the grounds, and Percy is here...with George…" he trailed off and Ginny felt her heart get tight. She had assumed everyone else was ok. Maybe a little injured but generally unharmed. She turned to look at Harry so she could gauge his expression.

"What happened? Are they ok?"

Harry looked strained, "Erm, yeah, pretty much. Percy is staying with George in the hospital wing. They gave him something to calm him down." He looked at her sideways.

"Calm him down?" she asked, confused, "What the hell are you talking about?!"

"Well, George stayed with Fred's…with Fred, all morning. Your parents had been helping with a few people who were very injured and then spoke with McGonagall about moving Fred back to the Burrow. But George wouldn't let go."

He sighed and moved to rub her back but she turned more to face him. She had to know what was going on. Harry glanced at her determined face and went on, "So finally Kingsley and your Dad had to physically pull George off of him and he was so hysterical that Madam Pomfrey gave him a potion to calm him down. Then they took him to the hospital wing so he could sleep. Bill said he's been awake the whole time but basically catatonic. He won't talk to anyone. Percy has been sitting with him all morning."

Ginny immediately stood up and walked towards the portrait hole. She heard Harry following but didn't slow down. They were both healthy and alive and would have time later to be there for each other. Right now she needed to be there for her brothers. _My living brothers._

Ginny's determination was slowed by the state of the castle around her. Though the hallways were now clear of bodies, the rubble and destruction still remained. She walked slowly through the remains of her beloved school, trying to keep her eyes from focusing on the blood stains, the destroyed portraits, a lone trainer. At one point Harry caught up to her and grabbed her hand but didn't make to stop her. They walked together towards the hospital wing but were forced to stop at the beginning of the corridor. All along the walls were makeshift beds, each one holding an injured body. The wounded ranged in age and size, from a tiny house elf whose legs were both in huge casts, to Professor Vector, who appeared to have an head injury. Her eyes also passed over a girl who looked to be underage and who was wearing the green robes of Slytherin. She wondered whose side she had been on.

She scanned the beds for red hair but didn't see any one related to her. As they walked hand-in-hand towards the main door to the hospital a few people cried out to Harry. She looked at him as he let go of her hand.

"I'll catch up with you," he said.

She nodded and watched as he went over to speak with the girl who called to him.

It was Alicia Spinnet, Ginny realized after a moment. Her skin was greyish and her hair looked to have been burned off on one side of her head. But even in her terrible condition, she beamed at Harry as he sat on her bed and held her hands. Ginny felt overwhelmed with love for her boyfriend. He had taken to this responsibility easily. Sure, sometimes he was worn out from having to grow up so fast and take on so much, but he had so much love for everyone that he never seemed resentful. She realized when Alicia and Harry looked over at her that she had been staring at them. They both gave her a smile which she returned, adding a little wave to Alicia, then she turned and entered the hospital.

She couldn't see anyone when she entered. All the beds in the wing had been fitted with curtains to give these victims privacy. She slowly walked down the aisle, looking at charts that hung on the outside of the curtains. She paused when she saw the curtain that said "Brown, L". She peeked in at the bed and grimaced. L was chalky white and covered in bandages. Next to her bed were about 12 different bottles that held a variety of colored liquids, as well as some Skel-e-gro. She felt a little sick looking at the bandages covering the sleeping girl, soaked through with potion and blood, but mostly she just felt relief that she was still alive. She kept walking, looking for her brothers until she spotted the curly red hair and horn-rimmed glasses of Percy, who was exiting a curtain on the far left side of the room. He removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose, looking exhausted and a lot like their father. She approached him and he started at her presence. Like with Ron, embracing her caused him to burst into tears and like with Ron, she just rubbed his back and let him.

When they broke apart she asked, "How is he?"

Percy shrugged, "The same. Though he did eat a bit, but only because I threatened to get Mum back here if he didn't."

Ginny tried to laugh but could only force a small smile.

Percy said, "I was just going to get some tea. Do you want anything?"

Ginny shook her head and opened the curtain.

George was picking dirt from his fingernails and didn't look up as she entered but said, "I'm fine, thanks," as if that had been his automatic response to anyone who approached his bed.

Ginny suppressed an eye roll but instead replied sarcastically, "Like I care," putting her hands on her hips for effect.

George's head shot up to look at her, his eyes wide.

She saw the corner of his mouth twitch but he didn't manage a smile.

Instead, he averted his eyes and slumped back on his pile of pillows, "Hey, sis," he mumbled.

She walked to his bed and looked him over. Other than being very filthy, he looked unharmed. Madam Pomfrey seemed to have already healed any superficial wounds he might have gotten.

She felt a little cross at his indifference to her presence, though she was pleasantly surprised she had gotten a reaction at all. She decided to push her luck.

"Your limbs don't seem broken so are you going to get off your arse and hug me or do I have to hex you?"

This time George did actually snort out a laugh.

"Didn't you hear, sis? I'm 'mentally fragile'," he made little quotations with his fingers before letting his arms flop on either side of the bed.

"Well they got the 'mental' part right," she replied, earning another little smile from her brother.

She refused to let George slip away. She would keep him on his toes, she would not baby him or seek information he wasn't ready to give. She would be the same person he had always known. George seemed to realize what she was doing and looked at her appreciatively.

"C'mere," he said, holding his arms out to her.

She put her knee up on his bed and came crashing down into his arms as he lay in bed. Instead of crying like his other brothers this had made him laugh. He relaxed his grip and she just lay in bed with him, her head on his chest. He stroked her hair for a few minutes before he spoke.

"Aren't you going to ask how I'm holding up?" he said sarcastically.

Ginny shook her head but didn't speak. She could feel tears forming in her eyes but she knew they still weren't for the right reason. She was feeling happy again and she didn't think she could explain it to George, of all people.

A few minutes passed when Harry popped his head into the space.

"Hey look," said George, "It's Undesirable Numero Uno!"

He sounded much happier than Ginny had expected he would, based on the information Harry had given her before she got here. She looked over at him now and saw a dumbstruck look on his face from George's greeting. She shook her head at him almost imperceptibly to signal that he should not bring George down with any kind of sad nonsense.

Thankfully Harry seemed to understand because he shot back, "I dunno, your sister there seems to find me pretty desirable."

George raised his eyebrows at Ginny as if this was a shock. Then they all broke into laughter.

Ginny felt relieved that her brother actually seemed to be doing ok but then she wondered if his initial breakdown wasn't his last. Perhaps this was just the eye of the storm.


	2. Loose Ends- Ron and Hermione

_Author's Note:_

_So each day will be a different character or characters' point of view. Day two is Ron and Hermione. Writing two POVs at the same time isn't ideal for me but I really wanted to show what they were each thinking. _

_This is also a long one. I'm not sure if they will all be this long but I couldn't find anything I wanted to cut out. _

This is my first fic so please review! I'd love to know what you all think!

**I do not own Harry Potter**

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**May 4- Loose Ends**

**Ron and Hermione**

"You really don't have to come along," she said, though secretly she really needed him to.

Ron shrugged and said, "It'd actually to be nice to get out of the house for a bit. Get a break from the sadness."

Hermione gave a little frown but didn't push the issue. They went downstairs and found Mr. Weasley sitting at the table half-heartedly flipping through a catalog for what Hermione recognized to be for The Sharper Image.

"Um, Mr. Weasley?" she started.

He looked up at them both and tried make himself seem less miserable, but wasn't very convincing.

"We are going to the Ministry for about an hour. We have a meeting with Kingsley."

"Oh?" he replied. Hermione thought he looked a little confunded.

"Erm, yes, about…about my parents," Hermione looked to Ron, hoping he could get through to his father.

"Oh-uh, yeah Dad. About going to Australia, you know?"

"Oh," Mr. Weasley said, eyes glazing over a bit. "That's right. Ok, well I'll let your mother know. See you in a bit." And with that he returned to looking at the catalog.

They walked into the yard, held hands and Apparated into the same alley that they had occupied only a short time ago when they had broken into the Ministry. They broke apart and Hermione looked around, panicked. She couldn't believe they thought to come here undisguised or even without the cloak. But before she could hatch a plan she saw Ron swipe his hand towards the opening of the alley and mumble "_Impervius._"

Then he reached into his back pocket and pulled out something small and beaded.

"Where did you get that?" she asked him, sounding a little accusing. He gave her a look but didn't answer as he pointed his lit wand into the bag and reached in up to his elbow, removing a silky bundle of fabric.

"Thought we might need this," he said simply, putting the small bag back into his pocket.

She nodded and exhaled in relief, "That's just what I was thinking. But why did you bring the entire bag? I mean, its not like we're camping out here."

He shrugged and flushed slightly, "I guess I didn't feel comfortable leaving without it. You know, just in case."

She walked towards him and took his face in her hands.

"You are completely brilliant," she stated and then kissed him for the second time ever.

He returned the affection and then added, "Always the tone of surprise," giving her another peck.

She rolled her eyes at him and said, "Come on then."

Ron threw the cloak over them and crouched down uncomfortably to keep his feet from showing. He guessed the Peverell family never grew any taller than 6 feet. They took the guest entrance using the token Kingsley had given them before he left Hogwarts. When they reached the Atrium they found two confused looking Aurors peering into the seemingly empty telephone box. When the box opened one of them called into the empty space, "Um, Miss Granger, is that you? Minister Shacklebolt sent us to escort you to his office."

They were approaching the box now as if they were going to have a feel around. Hermione gave Ron a questioning look and he nodded.

"I'm here," she said, and the men jumped. "Sorry, I'm under a cloak. Ron Weasley is with me. If you don't mind, we'd feel safer if we remained under here until we reached the Minister's office."

The larger of the two Aurors furrowed his brow.

"We will need some sort of identification, Miss."

Again the two peered at each other under the cloak. There was no way they were giving up their wands. Not that it would really make a difference because the wands they were using belonged to other people.

_Deceased people,_ Hermione thought.

"What about Patronuses?" Ron blurted out.

The larger one seemed surprised.

"You can produce corporeals?"

"Yes," said the smaller one, who now that Hermione looked at him, seemed familiar. "I know what they are. Go ahead."

Hermione closed her eyes and tried to think of a happy memory. She had never been as good at this as Harry.

She thought _I'm going to see my parents again_, then she murmured the incantation and a silver otter swam out of the telephone box, did a lap around the two men and then disappeared into a puff of silver mist.

The shorter man nodded and then said, "Now Weasley."

Ron was quicker. He had a fresh, very happy memory that had just occurred in the alley behind the Ministry of Magic.

_She had said I was brilliant. She had kissed me, again._

Then he said the words and a Jack Russel terrier came bounding towards the larger man, who, to Ron's amusement, jumped back. The smaller man actually laughed at the sight of Ron's patronus and at his startled associate.

"Ok," he said, still chuckling slightly, "that's them. Kingsley had said they were an otter and a tiny yappy dog. Follow us." And the two Aurors walked in front of the two huddled under the cloak.

Hermione realized then where she knew the smaller man. He was Walten Savage, one of the Aurors who had been stationed at Hogsmeade with Tonks.

When they got to the door Savage knocked and was asked to enter. They heard a quiet exchange and then the loud booming laugh of Kingsley Shacklebolt.

He returned and then seemed confused as he didn't know where to look to address them.

"Over here," supplied Ron. The man turned thankfully and said, "Ah, well go on in."

They walked into the room and closed the door behind them, still invisible.

Kingsley arched his eyebrows at the door seeming to close on its own accord. Then Hermione spoke,

"How did you and I leave Harry's aunt and uncle's house last summer?"

Kingsley smiled widely and said, "Why, I believe we rode a thestral."

She nodded at Ron and they pulled off the cloak.

"Sorry, I had to. Professor Lupin…" she trailed off.

Kingsley nodded and said, "Yes, I agree. Your vigilance is admirable. Alastor would've been very proud also." He gestured to the chairs before them, "Please, have a seat."

They sat and Ron noticed a large map on the wall pinned with several photos of the Death Eaters that were still at large, including, he was shocked to believe, Alecto Carrow _and _Thorfinn Rowle. He was sure that he had seen Amycus Carrow being escorted by Aurors through the castle yesterday. _Hadn't Harry said that they had been tied together?_

Ron was pulled from his deep thoughts by Kingsley's commanding voice addressing Hermione.

"...so as you can see, your testimony would be crucial."

He looked at Hermione, who was pale and nodding gravely.

"Testimony about what?" he asked.

Hermione went to speak but only air escaped. Kingsley addressed him instead.

"About what happened at Malfoy Manor. As you know, Lucius Malfoy was taken to Azkaban to await trial, even though he is thought to have defected from the Death Eaters. His wife and son are currently in a safe house awaiting word about their own fates."

Ron's brow furrowed. He couldn't believe that two-faced git wasn't in Azkaban. He knew Harry had said Narcissa had helped him defeat You-Know-Who, but he didn't trust the lot of them.

"You know Malfoy almost killed me," he stated coldly to Kingsley.

Kingsley did not react to his harsh tone but simply asked, "Are you speaking of the poison incident of a year ago? Yes, Harry mentioned it to me. As well as the other failed attempts that Draco performed last year on Miss Katie Bell and also Dumbledore in an effort to keep himself and his parents alive."

Ron crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Kingsley, but his anger cooled at the sound of Hermione's voice.

"So, what you are saying, Minister, is that Malfoy and his mother haven't committed any crimes willingly? That they only acted in self-preservation?"

Kingsley nodded, "Precisely. That is, unless, you have any testimony that can prove otherwise. I will admit to being apprehensive about letting anyone tattooed with a Dark Mark walk free at this time."

"Thank you," Ron mumbled under his breath.

"However," said Kingsley, ignoring Ron's comment, "it should not be assumed that every one who followed Lord Voldemort at one time is forever a Death Eater. Severus Snape, for example, and young Regulus."

Both Hermione and Ron looked surprised at hearing the Minister speak of Regulus Black, having learned about him and the Horcrux he sacrificed himself to steal only a year ago. They both nodded at Kingsley in agreement and he went on.

"There will be several trials over the next few weeks where your testimony could be most valuable. That being said, I would like to request we hold off on collecting your parents from Australia."

Hermione was not expecting this turn of events. She had thought she was going into the Ministry today to get information on Port Keys and International Magical relations. But she was instead being asked to leave her parents where they were; not knowing they had a daughter.

Kingsley seemed to see the shock and confusion on Hermione's face.

"I am to understand that you put this very complicated charm on your parents in order to protect them?" he asked.

Hermione started, "Y-yes, of course."

He held up a hand towards the map that Ron had been reviewing earlier. "These are some of the Death Eaters that are in the process of being captured. There are still a few that we have no leads on at all. All of these wizards will have to go through a trial and sentence. Some of them, though I'm hoping not, may go free. In addition there are many Voldemort sympathizers all over the world still just hearing now about his downfall. These people need to be identified and some may even need to be detained. We are not out of the woods yet, Miss Granger, which I assume you know seeing how you arrived at the Ministry today."

Though his words completely made sense, Hermione still felt a renewed sense of sadness at having displaced her parents. It was different when there was a strong possibility that they were in mortal peril. Now that Voldemort was gone and she could return home, she felt anxious about not having her parents there, where she would be able to protect them personally. In the end, her reason outweighed her emotions and she gave the Minister a nod and then cast her head down to hid the tears that were beginning to well up in her eyes. Ron glared again at the Minister, scooted his chair closer to Hermione's and put an arm around her.

"If it is any consolation," the Minister went on, in a softer voice, "there is a team of Aurors in Australia as we speak. They are keeping an eye on your parents and keeping a look out for any Death Eaters that might try to flee to that area." When he got no response he said, "Well, I know this wasn't what you were expecting and I assure you we are doing everything in our power to reconnect you with your parents. I will be in contact shortly with a list of the trials that need your attendance," he reached into a desk drawer and pulled out a long object wrapped in a piece of cloth. "I will leave you with this," he added as he pushed the bundle towards her.

Hermione looked at it curiously and then unwrapped the fabric covering. Lying in the center, looking completely undamaged, was her wand.

_Well today wasn't a complete loss, then._

She managed a smile as she waved the wand and easily transfigured one of Kingsley's quills into a turtle, causing the Minister to laugh loudly.

"Thank you, Minister," she said as both she and Ron stood to leave.

"My pleasure, Hermione. If you wouldn't mind, I need to speak with Mr. Weasley here for a moment."

Ron looked at him curiously, wondering what he had to say that couldn't be said in front of Hermione. He gave Hermione the cloak and sat back down.

"I'll wait in the hall," she said quietly to him and he squeezed her hand before she slipped the cloak back on and crept outside, invisible.

Kingsley turned back to Ron and pressed his fingers together in a way that strongly resembled Dumbledore.

"I wanted to talk to you about your interest in helping the Aurors capture these remaining Death Eaters and other potentially dangerous Voldemort supporters."

Ron nodded.

"I would like you, Harry and Neville to come back here tomorrow around 2pm. We will meet with Auror Robards about your role in this dangerous task. I appreciate the amount of danger you've already faced but I have to agree with Potter on his insistence in this case that while some of it is prodigious skill, a large part has also been luck. After all you have been through, I'd understand if you wanted to maybe shift your focus to something less dangerous."

Ron thought for a moment. Kingsley had struck a note of truth in what he said. Now that You-Know-Who was gone, Ron was looking forward to spending time with his family and Hermione. Maybe taking a little holiday on their way to Australia. _Australia…_

"Sir, what you said to Hermione, about waiting to get her parents…if these fugitives are rounded up, they can come home, can't they?"

Kingsley nodded slowly, "Yes, Ron, as soon as it's safe for both of you to travel you will be able to collect them."

"Then I'll do it. You said that it isn't over, if we're still fighting, I'll fight. And when it's safe enough to get Hermione's parents, then I'll be off. I do think I might want an early retirement from all this madness," he said, gesturing around at the office.

Kingsley chuckled at this, "I won't say that I blame you, son. It's settled then. I'll see you tomorrow at 2pm with the others."

Ron understood himself to be dismissed and got up to walk to the door. Kingsley called after him.

"Mr. Weasley, Mr. Savage told me your Patronus is a Jack Russel Terrier. Is that so?"

Ron turned to him with a furrowed brow, "Er, yeah. But he said you knew what it was already."

"I knew it was a small dog, but I was unsure of the breed. Has it always been that?"

Ron couldn't see where this was going but replied, "Yeah, well I've only been able to cast one for about a year, haven't I? That's always what it's been."

Kingsley smiled at him, "Are you familiar with their attributes?"

Ron shrugged, "It's a tiny, yappy dog, like you said, isn't it?"

Kingsley chuckled and shook his head,

"The breed is best known for it's ability to force animals such as foxes from burrows, and a penchance for," he gestured at the door, "chasing otters."


	3. Connections- Neville

_Author's Note: As you might've noticed, each chapter is only a brief look into each day. Right now I'm just trying to give a sense of what is going on for each character. Once all the characters are established I'm planning for it to be quicker paced._

_**I do not own Harry Potter**_

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**May 5- Connections**

**Neville**

Neville awoke with a start. His heart was pounding in his chest and his breath came fast. He looked out his window to see an orange streak on the horizon. It was almost daybreak. Neville wiped his sweaty face on his bed sheet and muttered, "Lumos." The wand he had fallen asleep holding lit up in his hand as he walked to the window.

It had been three days. Three days since he had sliced off the snake's head. Three days since Voldemort and Bellatrix had died. _They were gone. _But every night since he had had the same dream. He shuddered as he thought about it again. _He had the sword, he ran towards the snake._

And he missed. He missed and the Death Eaters surrounding him laughed derisively as Bellatrix Lestrange hit him with the Cruciatus Curse. His body is held aloft as he screams in pain. In his dream he can actually feel the curse making his blood boil, flaying his skin, pulling back his fingernails. He can feel all of it. And then he sees him. Harry. Looking so disappointed as Neville is tortured for his mistake, for his sloppiness. Finally, mercifully, he is thrown to the ground. That's when Voldemort approaches, his wand pointed at Neville's chest. But at the last second, right before the curse hits, he changes. It's no longer Voldemort hurling the curse, but Harry, eyes glowing red. He hears the words form and he sees the flash of green light.

And then he wakes up.

Neville points his wand into a glass and says, "Aguamenti." The glass fills with water but his hands are shaking so much that he spills a bit on the floor and himself. Without bothering to clean it up he takes several large gulps of water and slumps back onto his bed. He knew there was no point in trying to get more sleep. He couldn't bear the thought of having the dream more than once per night.

After taking a very hot shower, applying the ointments Madam Pomfrey prescribed him for his injuries and dressing himself in his new business robes, Neville went downstairs to make some tea. As he drank he hazarded a glance at yesterday's Prophet, which his grandmother had left out opened to a photo of him taken two days ago, when he returned to his home from Hogwarts. He might not have recognized himself if it wasn't for the caption below the photo that stated '_Neville and Augusta Longbottom, returning home after participating in The Battle of Hogwarts"._ Neville smiled when the photo showed his grandmother forcefully pushing aside a photographer with one hand and grabbing Neville's arm with the other to pull him inside the house. She had always protected him. Before, he had thought it was because she had to, but now he really felt like she cared about his wellbeing. _I am my parent's son. I am Gran's son. _

Neville was actually glad for his early start. He planned to get over to St. Mungo's early to visit with his parents. Even though they may not recognize him or understand what he was saying, he felt he owed them an explanation of everything that had been going on. He hadn't seen them for almost two years and then, only a few days ago, he thought he might never see them again. After that he told Ron and Harry he'd meet up with them for some lunch before heading over to the Ministry for their meeting with Kingsley and Robards.

At half-past 8, he left a note for his grandmother and Apparated directly from the kitchen to the Apparation room of St. Mungo's. To his great relief it was empty except for one person who did not look up at his appearance. He couldn't believe that he actually had to worry about being recognized now. _This is how Harry must've felt for the last seven years…_

The receptionist's eyes got wide as he approached the desk. All the staff of the Permanent Spell Damage department had already known him by sight for the last 17 years. He had watched them come and go but he would always be there, as long as his parents were there to visit.

"M-Mr. Lo-ongbottom," the receptionist stammered out.

"Uh, hi Clarissa, it's, it's just Neville, ya know?" he said awkwardly, flushing.

She returned his flush in full, "Yes, yes of course," she said, seeming to pull herself together, "How are you…oh bugger, I didn't mean…" She became flustered again and made about organizing some papers on her desk, not looking at him.

"I'm fine, Clarissa, thanks," he signed in on the clipboard but she did not respond, "Erm, can I just go in then?"

Head still down and face a bright scarlet, she nodded jerkily. Neville rolled his eyes and headed down to see his Mum and Dad.

He stood in front of their room and took a few deep breaths before pasting a big smile on his face and pulling back the curtain that hid their beds. His mother's eyes immediately shot up at him. They scanned his face slowly, her eyebrows furrowed, as if searching for something. Finally, feeling awkward again, Neville spoke.

"Hi, Mum."

The sound of his voice seemed to break the trance.

"Oh," she said, and then began smoothing her down her bedclothes. "Oh, oh, oh."

She got up and shuffled over to him, getting very close. She peered into his face, as if trying to decipher a particularly difficult potion.

"Mum," he started, speaking quietly at her, "Mum, it's Neville. Um, I brought you some sweets," he added, pulling out the small bag of assorted sweets he had grabbed for her at Honeydukes on the way back from Hogwarts.

Her eyes darted down to the bag and she took it cautiously. Neville couldn't understand what had made his mother so agitated. She shuffled over to the bed where his father lay sleeping and poked him in his foot. His father woke up suddenly, mumbling something that sounded an awful like Neville's name.

"Nev? Nevvy? Nelly?" he said looking around.

Neville was shocked. His parents were generally catatonic when he came by, either that or silent but happy. He had never heard either of them say anything remotely close to his name.

"Over here Dad," he said to his disoriented father.

His father looked over at him and, like his mother, furrowed his brow.

He kept staring at Neville and started to shout now, "Nev! Nev! Nev!" over and over, louder and louder.

Neville did not know what to do, he wasn't expecting his parents to have any reaction to his visit, let alone a frightened one. He pulled the side of the curtain back and swished his wand at the door to signal a Healer. A few moments later, a Healer came in and rushed over to Neville's parents.

"Here ya go, Frank, here ya go," she said, holding an arm across his chest to pin him and pouring a calming draft into his yelling mouth. "Shhh, it's ok. Neville isn't here right now, but he'll be back soon, I promise."

"I am here," he stated, totally bewildered by the events that had taken place since he reached the hospital. The Healer turned to look at him, paused for a minute and then seemed to finally recognize him.

"Goodness, you are! You are here! Alice, Frank, it's him, it's Neville."

The entire time that Neville's father had been carrying on, his mother sat on her bed staring at him as she carefully ate through all the sweets he had brought her, piling the wrappers neatly on her bedside table. She stopped chewing her toffee at the Healer's words.

Slowly, she got off her bed again and bent down awkwardly to pull something out from underneath. It was a large brown sack filled with something that Neville couldn't discern. The bag was about as large as his Mum's torso and she could just peek out over the top of it as she shuffled it over to him.

"Oh," she said when she reached him.

He wasn't sure what to do.

"Oh," she repeated and bumped the bag into him.

"Is this for me, Mum?" he asked her, but looked at the Healer, who nodded. He took the bag and peered inside. They were sweet wrappers. Hundreds of them, by the looks of it. She had saved two years worth of them in his absence.

"Oh," she shuffled back over to the bedside table and then added the small pile she had just made to the bag.

Neville's eyes filled with tears. _They remember me. Somewhere in there, they know who I am._

"Nev….Neal…Nell…Ville…" he heard his dad whispering from his bed. Neville approached him and crouched by his side.

"I'm here, Dad, it's really me. I'm sorry I've been gone for so long. Lots has happened," he looked to the Healer, whose eyes also seemed to be wet, "When did this start?"

The Healer sighed, "A few weeks after that debacle at the Ministry, where You-Know-Who was first spotted. Your Gran, well she'd come visit regularly, bring your Mum sweets, she would, and just talk to 'em," she sniffled and conjured a chair for Neville. He stayed crouched, placing his hand on top of his father's.

"Well, after about a month of visits, your Mum, she starts making that noise-'Oh', every time yer Gran talked about you. We all thought it was just a coincidence until we found that bag o' wrappers there. After that, your Gran started bringing in photos and news articles bout yeh," she pointed to a basket of Prophets and Quibblers that sat between the two beds, "Then, about July of last year, yer Dad, he would look at those papers and say 'Nell'. Sometimes he'd get right worked up, like today, and we'd haft to calm him down. Then, one day yer Gran came in all flustered, talking about how she might not be visiting for a while. That was when she first heard Frank say it. I've known Augusta for going on 20 years and I never seen your Gran cry until that day," she finished with a conjuring of a handkerchief and a strong blow to her nose.

"So," he began, feeling hopeful, "they're getting better, then? Do you think they'll keep improving?" But just a look at the Healer's face pulled all the hopefulness out of him.

She shook her head, "I'm sorry, dear, but while I do agree that these little notions of familiarity are a vast improvement, we can't see them improving much more than this over the rest of their years. All yeh can do is spend the time and we'll see where it goes from there." She patted his shoulder and gave him a tender look before leaving them in privacy.

Neville positioned his chair in between the two beds and looked at his parents. His presence still captured their attentions. His mother having finished the sweets was sitting up in bed with her hands on her lap, continuously smoothing down her sheets and robes. His father was staring at him with slightly glassy eyes and was mouthing his name, though silently. Neville exhaled, he didn't know where to start. He glanced at his watch that had once been his father's, and decided he had time and would just tell them everything that had happened since his last visit.

Around noon a different woman came in to check on them. She had two trays of food and a copy of the Daily Prophet. Upon seeing Neville she almost dropped the food she was levitating.

She pulled herself together and said, "Sorry, I didn't know anyone was in here."

Neville stood up to allow her easier access to his parent's beds. "Yeah, sorry it's been a while so we were just catching up."

She gave them each their trays of food and then eyed him up and down carefully. Neville felt himself blush slightly at her look.

"Oh, it's no problem. Stay as long as you like. I'm Maggie, by the way, Maggie Weasley," she said boldly, holding out her hand.

"Weasley? Like Ron Weasley?" he asked, not introducing himself but completing the handshake.

She shrugged, "Yeah, he's a cousin, haven't seen him in ages, though. And you are?"

"Oh, right, I'm Neville."

"Nev…Nevvy…" his father added. Maggie glanced at him but went on,

"Figured as much, but wanted to check. You look a lot different than those photos," she pointed to the collection of photos on the center table that showed him at various stages of childhood. Neville looked at the chubby, awkward boy in the photos and felt his ears go red.

"Right, well I actually need to head out anyway," he said to Maggie and then turned to his parents who were currently very focused on some ham sandwiches, "Bye Mum, Dad, I'll be back in a few days," he walked over and put his hand on his Dad's shoulder. His father looked him in the eyes and said, "Nev?"

"Yeah, Dad, it's Neville. I'll be back in a few days. Try to stay relaxed, ok?"

His dad didn't respond but instead took a comically large bite of his sandwich. Neville genuinely smiled at this and then bent to pick up the bag of sweet wrappers. He gave the nurse a quick nod and said politely, "Bye, then," as he walked through the curtain and made for the door.

To his surprise, Maggie caught up with him in the hall.

"Hey, Neville! Hang on!" he stopped and turned to face her, thinking that maybe he forgot something. Instead, she addressed him like an old friend, "So, where are you headed? It's just…I get a lunch break in 10 minutes so I thought maybe you and I could go grab a bite?" when she looked up at him now he noticed her large hazel eyes behind the long eyelashes she was batting at him.

_Is she flirting with me?! Oh bugger…_

"Uh, er, sorry, I actually have plans to meet up with some friends-your cousin, actually," he stammered as he slowly backed away from her. She gave a dramatic pout that reminded him of Lavender Brown. "Oh, ok then, well maybe next time? When did you say you were coming back to visit?"

Neville shrugged, "Not sure yet, have to get my work schedule." He had managed to back himself into the Apparation room and quickly said, "Ta!" before disappearing with a crack.

He had Apparated onto the Diagon Alley side of the Leaky Cauldron. Before he could even get his head on straight he heard someone calling his name.

"Neville! Oi! Get in here, quick!" the woman yelled. He looked up to see Hannah Abbott craning her head out of an upstairs window of the Leaky Cauldron. He looked around to see what the big deal was when he noticed them. Scads of reporters, armed with Quick Quotes Quills and cameras were pressing in on him from both sides. Before they could reach him, he tapped the bricks that opened the entryway to the Leaky Caldron and made his way inside.

When he got in, Hannah was waiting for him.

"Hey, Hannah, thanks for that," he said, placing his bag of wrappers on a seat at the bar, and then shrinking it with his wand, as to place it in the pocket of his robes. She gave him a tight smile but quickly barked at him again, "What are you doing? You can't sit here, didn't you see them?"

"What, I- " Neville started, confused.

"Come on, then," she said, walking out from the back of the bar and leading him over to a seemingly empty booth that was roped off with a "Reserved" sign hanging on it. "Hey, you lot, I got him," she said to the empty booth. "Who are you talking to?" he asked as he followed behind her. It wasn't until he was standing right in front that he could see the booth was not actually empty at all, but in fact held three people: Harry, Ron and Luna.

"Sit down, quick!" Hannah hissed at him, "before people notice!"

Neville didn't have to be told twice. He slid into the booth next to Harry and across from Luna and Ron.

"Hey guys, Luna," he said to them, and then directed his attention to Hannah, "Thanks again, for looking out. You work here now?"

Hannah gave him a cheery smile and nodded, "Yeah, Tom is an old friend of my family's. He gave me a job for the summer. You all know what you want?" she finished, addressing the table. They all ordered and she left to get their food and drink.

"Pretty cool, huh, Neville?" asked Ron, gesturing to Hannah, "She put a disillusionment charm on the table so it looks unoccupied. That way no one can bother us while we eat!"

"Very cool," agreed Neville. "You know, I never thought I'd hate getting attention, but after today…" he trailed off as he rubbed his hands back and forth over his face.

"What happened?" asked Harry.

Neville told them all about his trip to the hospital and his parents as they ate the food Hannah had brought them. They were all very excited about his parents' improvement.

"And then, Ron, I saw your cousin."

"You're going to have to narrow it down, mate," said Ron, now tucking into a large slab of cherry crumble.

"Um, Maggie, she's a nurse at St. Mungo's."

"Oh, right, how is Maggie? I haven't seen her since I was about 10."

"Well, she sort of, asked me out," he admitted, awkwardly.

Ron almost spit out the large mouthful of butterbeer he had just drunk.

Harry laughed and clapped him on the back "Good on ya, Neville! Now we can both date Ron's relatives!"

He looked at Ron who was staring at him, dumbfounded, "What exactly did she say?"

Neville glanced at Luna who had been very quiet through this exchange but was watching it all interestedly.

"I dunno, she brought my parents their lunch and then asked me if I wanted to get some with her…lunch, I mean."

"She was probably just being polite," suggested Ron, relaxing a little, "I mean, she's like 27, Neville. A bit old for you, eh?"

Neville shrugged and nodded, "Well, anyway, I turned her down. It was strange, she kept looking at me all weird and batting her eyes," he finished, feeling the flush return to his neck again.

"Sounds like she was flirting with you," said Luna plainly.

All three of them looked at her with wide eyes, but Ron spoke first, "What? Flirting? With Neville?" He gave Harry and Neville an incredulous look and they all chuckled.

"I don't know why you all think it's so funny. In case you haven't realized, Neville has gotten quite fit in the last year especially. Even if he didn't help bring down Lord Voldemort, I think most girls would find him to be quite the catch," she said and then tucked back into her treacle tart.

No one was laughing now and all three boys looked a little pink in the cheeks. They watched as Luna picked up her plate and licked off a particularly stubborn clump of caramel before adding, "In fact, Neville, if you aren't doing anything this Saturday, I'm going to the lake to look for a rare breed of Plimpies. Perhaps you could bring that water plant book and we could make a day of it."

Neville gaped at her, completely red now. She looked back at him with her orb-like eyes, awaiting an answer and completely unembarrassed about asking him out in front of the other two. Neville just gulped and nodded back at her.

"Good," she said, throwing a few coins on the table for her lunch, "I'll send you an owl later to discuss it. I'm off to Flourish and Blott's. Frosk Scamander is doing a signing for his new book about rare creatures of Europe. I hope you all have a good meeting at the Ministry," she finished cheerily before Disapparating right from the table.

The three boys were quiet for a few minutes before Harry spoke, "Just so we're clear, you are going on a date, with Luna Lovegood, to look for imaginary creatures?"

Neville smiled, "Yeah, I suppose I am!"

Ron snorted, "Blimey, you must be hard up for it, eh?"

Neville gave him a kick under the table and they all laughed. After another round of butterbeers, they Disapparated to the Ministry.

* * *

_A/N: Just a quick note about Neville's parents. I know that JK has said they never recover from what Bellatrix did to them, but I wanted there to be a little more for Neville than just Bellatrix's death. Neville is one of my favorite characters so look forward to reading my take on his relationships with Luna and Hannah as the story unfolds. _

_Day Four will be from Lavender Brown's POV. This is controversial because the HP wiki claims that she died, which I know is true in the movie, but the book does not reveal what happens to her. JK has never given a solid answer into whether she was meant to die so I'm writing under the assumption that she survives. _

_Please review! This is my first fanfiction and I'd love your opinion!_


	4. Healing- Lavender

**May 6- Healing**

**Lavender**

The pain was still excruciating. Lavender gently closed her mouth around the straw that had been placed close to her face and sucked gently to receive a hydration potion that she had been told was better than water, since she didn't need to drink as much and therefore would have to use her throat less. And yet even the slight movement of her head to reach the fluids was more pain that she'd ever thought she could handle.

That was something she had noticed, in the four days since she'd been attacked. Even though her healing process was proving to be long and excruciating, she was dealing with the pain better every day. It didn't seem to be less, but it was like her brain could turn off while it was happening. She was glad for this small comfort, thinking that if she was not able to cope with what happened to her, it was likely she'd have gone insane by now.

She had also taken a small comfort in the fact that she had a private room at St. Mungo's, which after the battle, was almost unheard of, according to the nurse who came to change her bandages 6 times a day. The bandages were a way of noting how much time passed in her room. They were changed before breakfast (which was a potion), between breakfast and lunch, after lunch (also a potion and some weak tea), at bath time (which was in a potion), after dinner (which was a potion and some sort of thick shake that looked horrible but tasted rather good) and finally right before bed (accompanied by a sleeping draft which was her favorite potion of the day). The first two days they had refrained from using a sleeping draft due to the risk that she might not wake up. In fact, they gave her Skel-e-Gro as if to keep her awake on purpose. Yet even the agony of her bones repairing was a pain she could manage, with focus.

On the second day, any patients who had not been discharged were transferred to St. Mungo's. Upon entering her empty room, she wondered if she had been the only student attacked by Greyback, or simply the only one to survive.

Her parents took turns staying with her at Hogwarts, which seemed to be more relaxed about visitors in such a time of turmoil. At St. Mungo's, however, the Creature Inflicted Injuries ward had strictly regimented visiting hours, which meant lots of time for her to sit and think about what she knew about the Battle and what she could only guess. She had not seen her best friend Parvati, nor any other Gryffindors except, to her surprise, Lee Jordan, who had been discharged after a bout of internal bleeding and had snuck in to see her briefly.

She had already had two bandage changes today and she was starting to feel a little hungry so she knew it was almost time for lunch. She wondered when she would be allowed to eat solid foods again. Though her throat contracted painfully at just the idea of swallowing, her hunger had grown more and more as the days passed. As if reading her mind, she heard the door open and saw a tray float towards her table followed by a tall man with bright red hair.

_Ron?! _Was her first thought, as this man greatly resembled him. But as she focused more on his appearance, she realized that it was not Ron. This man was even taller than Ron and had much longer hair. He also seemed to be wearing some sort of earring. What truly set them apart, however, was the mass of scarred flesh across the one side of this man's face.

He noticed her staring at him and smiled slightly, "Hi there, I'm-"

"-Bill," she finished, hoarsely. It had been the first time she'd spoken in ages, but she had finally put together the pieces. This was Bill Weasley, Ron's brother who had also been attacked by Greyback back in her 6th year at Hogwarts.

"What are you-" she began but he held up a hand to cut her off.

"Don't strain your voice. I know it must hurt." He sat in the chair next to her bed and transferred her straw into a fresh potion.

"I spoke to the head of the department. She consented to allow me to bring your lunch and speak with you for a bit. If you don't mind, that is." She nodded as she drank the potion quickly through the long straw. Bill went on, "Are you feeling better? You can just nod or shake," he finished, when she opened her mouth as if to speak. In response, she nodded, but then winced. Bill gave a light chuckle.

"I know what you mean. Even when I was starting to improve, the pain didn't seem to leave. It felt like the pain was being trapped underneath the healed skin, you know?"

Lavender looked at him with wide eyes. _That is exactly how it feels._ She suddenly wanted to ask him a million questions, but knew that it would probably be too much on her throat.

As if reading her mind Bill said, "I'm sure you have a lot of questions about what is going to happen to you. That's why I wanted to come a see you. When I was attacked, no one knew what to do. Mine was a unique case; being bitten by an untransformed werewolf. But it seems it's not so unique anymore." He gestured to her with a sad smile on his face, which she tried to return, succeeding in a grimace.

"However, because we then knew that Greyback was at large and more than happy to attack at any time, research has been done in case someone else ended up in my situation. Thankfully, there are now treatments that will make your recovery a little better than mine was at first."

Lavender was looking at him with a curious expression. She couldn't imagine a worse recovery than the one she was currently experiencing.

"The potions that you drink, as well as the one's that your bandages are soaked in, are designed to help draw out any toxins that may be present from the attack. This one," he held up a glass of the reddish brown slurry that she usually got at dinner and she made an involuntary moan of hunger. He chuckled and switched her straw to the new glass, "is delicious, yes. It's also a very ingenious potion created by Severus Snape." Upon hearing that name Lavender stopped drinking and looked at Bill, shocked. He nodded at her horror, "I know, I never trusted him either, but it turns out he was actually on our side. Unfortunately this wasn't discovered until his death, but I can say with all certainty that the Lupus Eximo potion is safe and effective."

There was silence as Lavender drank again, broken by the slurping sound made as she finished every last drop. Bill then switched her straw again into the hydration potion.

Before he could interrupt her she croaked, "Are you a werewolf?"

He shook his head, "No, but the curse is present in me, as well as you, and, as it turns out, Remus Lupin's son. Before this potion was created, I took on certain 'wolfish qualities', if you will. I preferred rare steaks over vegetables. I would have trouble staying awake during the day and asleep at night. And at time's my temper was short and my anger very intense." Lavender looked at him with frightened eyes and he quickly changed tactics, "What I'm saying is, that, drunk regularly, this potion removes most of these side effects and allows you to lead a perfectly normal life. The full moon…" he trailed off now, wondering if he was making things worse.

"What's going to happen to me?" she asked, rasping.

Bill sighed and went on, "Nothing too severe. You will get headaches and you might be irritable. Before getting Snape's potion I had horrible body aches that felt like knives but now I just get the occasional muscle cramps. You will also be hungry, ravenous even, but the potion takes away the craving for meat and blood."

He looked at her apprehensively and to his astonishment, she actually laughed, but then stopped and winced.

"Girls always have those symptoms once a month, Bill," she rasped with a chuckle, "whether or not they get bitten by a werewolf."

It took Bill a minute to understand what she was saying and then thought about how his wife behaved a few days out of the month and returned her amused expression.

"Yes, well then, I suppose it will be nothing new for you."

She looked at him and felt a calm optimism for the first time since she woke up after the attack. Bill then pushed his long hair behind his ears and she inhaled deeply.

"The scarring," she said plainly.

Bill looked at her sadly and shook his head. After everything he had just told her, all the relief she felt at the possibility of having a normal life, it was this news that made her feel hot tears fall on her partially bandaged face. _My beautiful face. _

"Shhh, no Lavender, it's ok. My wounds were actually worse than the scars you see now. They did heal a bit." She continued to cry. She saw Bill stand up and thought he was going to leave instead he reached into his pocket and pulled out a photo.

"Lavender, have you seen my wife before?" he held up the photo of him and Fleur taken on his wedding day. Lavender nodded, wiping tears away with her unbandaged arm.

"After I was bitten, I was worried that she wouldn't want me anymore. I thought that someone so beautiful would be repulsed by how I looked. But she didn't leave. If anything, I think she loved me more. And I'm going to tell you what Fleur told my mother after I was attacked. All those scars show is that you are brave. You fought to make our world a better place and that makes you more beautiful than you will ever know." He leaned forward and gave her a light kiss on her forehead. She sniffed and nodded at him.

"Your Healer mentioned that you'll be heading home next week. There is a full moon in a few days and I think they just want to observe you for the first one before you are discharged. Send me an owl when you are feeling up to it and I'll try to come and visit you after you get settled in, alright?"

This time she did manage a smile and nodded at him.

"Thanks, Bill. I really appreciate you coming to see me."

"It's no problem," he said, "there's actually someone else that wouldn't mind saying hi, if you are up for it?"

She nodded enthusiastically hoping it was who she thought it'd be. Bill chuckled and said, "Alright, I'll go get him. Remember, save your voice and drink those potions." He waved at her and she returned it.

A few moments later another red haired man entered her room, the one she initially mistook Bill for.

"Ron," she croaked.

He gave her a tight smile but then quickly turned away. She could see his shoulders shaking for a few moments before he took a few deep breaths and brought his hands up to his face to wipe it. Then he turned around and walked towards her.

"Hey Lav," he said, still sniffling, "How you holding up?"

"I've been better," she said and he choked out a laugh.

Ron kneeled next to her bed and brought a hand up to her forehead, brushing the hair away. "It's going to be fine, you know? You saw Bill, he's doing well."

She nodded, somewhat shocked by his tenderness. There was silence for a few moments as Ron shed a few silent tears, taking in her bandaged neck and arm.

"He's dead," he said hollowly, looking into her eyes again, "Greyback."

She nodded. Her parents had told her this back at Hogwarts.

"I killed him, Lav. Neville and me. I mean, he wasn't long for this world anyway, but I had to be sure."

This was new information. She always knew Ron was brave and that he sometimes had a temper, but the idea that he had killed someone, even someone so evil, came as a shock to her.

"How?" was all she could reply.

Ron shrugged, "Full body bind, if you can believe it. Neville and I used the same spell and we hit him right in the heart. Suppose we gave him heart failure."

She smiled, both to reassure him that he had done the right thing and also out relief that the werewolf was actually dead. Whenever she had nightmares, Fenrir Greyback often had a starring role. He crawled into her hospital room as she slept and would eat her alive…

"I'm so sorry, Lavender."

Ron's choked apology pulled her out of her terrible daydream.

"For what?" she said hoarsely, taking another drink of hydration potion.

"For being the most rubbish boyfriend ever. I dated you for all the wrong reasons and I wasn't even man enough to break it off before I really hurt you."

She gaped at him. _Was he really apologizing for this? Now? _

"Ron, it's-" she began. "No, it's not fine. But I'm sorry. You deserve someone that can give you as much affection and attention as you deserve. And I really believe you will. You are a great girl, Lav."

She frowned at this, not because she didn't like what he had said, but because it was hard to believe.

"Even like this?" she asked, nodding down at her bandage figure.

"Well, no, I doubt you'll find the man of your dreams in this hospital bed. But you know, once you can use the loo on your own…" he had succeeded in making her laugh with this remark and she smiled fondly at him.

"You're a beautiful person Lavender. Not just a pretty face."

She felt tears again, but this time they were not from sadness.

"Thanks, Ron."

He shrugged and looked away, "Don't mention it."

"You've really grown up," she stated, appraising him fully, "Did you and Hermione ever..."

He blushed and glanced up at her, "Ever what?"

She managed to roll her eyes, "I don't know, figure out you were mad for each other?"

He chuckled, "Oh, yeah, we worked it out. It took a war and imminent death, but I've never been the brightest, eh?"

She laughed again. As terrible of a boyfriend as he had been, she had to admit he'd always been good for a laugh.

"Well, I'm glad, Ron. Really I am. I hope you're right and I can find something like that."

"You will, I'm sure of it," he said, reaching out to put him hand on top of hers, "Listen, I have to go. I'm due back at the Ministry in a few minutes. Bill told me they're going to send you home next week. I'll write you, ok?"

For a second, Lavender wanted to ask if this was in fact the real Ronald Weasley and not an imposter but instead she gave him a small nod and a smile as he stood up and walked away.

* * *

_Author's Note: So there you are, a little bit of closure for Ron and Lavender. Although I'm trying to stick to canon very closely, I'll be taking liberties with the characters whose futures are unknown at this point. _

_Also, about last chapter. Newt Scamander is dead by this point but it is unknown what his son's (Rolf's father)'s name is. So that's who the book signing is with, in case there is confusion. (Also Frosk is a play on Frosch which is the German for Frog. Newt, Frog, get it?!)_

_Day 5 will catch up with our favorite Slytherin! _


	5. Compromise- Draco

_Author's Note: I wanted to thank everyone who has reviewed, followed and __favorited this so far. I was over the moon yesterday when I got 200 views! _

_This chapter is from Draco's POV and was difficult to write. Draco is one of the most complex characters in Harry Potter, in my opinion. I know he isn't part of Dumbledore's Army but he will be playing a large part in this Post-DH universe. _

_Not to be a broken record but, please keep reviewing! The feedback helps me to keep writing!_

_***I do not own Harry Potter***_

* * *

**May 7- Compromise**

**Draco**

Draco sat on a hard marble bench outside of the Minister for Magic's office. The last time he had seen Kingsley Shacklebolt, Draco had been running through a battle with Severus Snape, having just watched his Headmaster topple dead through the Astronomy tower window. He was not looking forward to this meeting. True, he wasn't currently in prison, like his father, but he feared that his time as a free man would soon be up. He had the Dark Mark, there wasn't any getting around that.

The door to the office swung open and he stood abruptly. Kingsley walked over to him and stood so close that Draco had to crane his next to look up at the massive man in the purple robes.

"You can go in," he growled and then quickly turned and walked down the corridor away from his office.

Draco furrowed his brow, confused. He had assumed his meeting was with the Minister, but he had left. _Maybe he was coming back and he just wanted him to wait inside_.

He walked towards the room and entered and found himself looking at someone's back.

A man, with with untidy black hair.

"Potter," he stately plainly. He should've known that he would be involved in this somehow.

Harry Potter turned around and Draco couldn't hold back a sharp intake of breath as he looked at his childhood nemesis. It had been five days since the fall of the Dark Lord and Draco hadn't really spent much time thinking about the three responsible or how they were holding up. He did suppose that they all looked a little worse for wear during the battle, but everyone did, didn't they? It was a war afterall.

But now, seeing him here, cleaned up and in nice robes, there was nothing to distract from the sharp angles of his face, the sunken pits around his eyes and in his cheeks.

Harry smirked as he watched Draco assess his appearance. Draco saw his expression and averted his eyes.

"Merlin, Potter, you look like hell."

Harry actually chuckled and said, "Yeah well you've looked better yourself, Draco."

The use of Draco's first name was not lost on him. He looked up again and Harry gestured the seat next to him. Draco hesitated, but took it and Harry turned to face him, suddenly somber.

_Oh please let him gloat, or yell. I can't stand this. Please let him just lose it._

"How're you holding up?" Harry asked and Draco seemed to deflate in his seat. Of course Harry was going to be noble and caring. After everything Draco had done, Harry Potter is _concerned._

Draco only shrugged and then looked at him with curiosity. He couldn't express the same concern about Harry Potter after spending seven years feeling nothing but disdain, jealousy, anger, hatred and resentment towards this boy, who was now a man, while he himself still felt like a pathetic adolescent.

Harry picked up the cue and said, "It's an adjustment. Right now we're just picking up the pieces. Hogwart's, my aunt and uncle's, Sirius' all need rebuilding. And then there are all the funerals…Fred…"

He trailed off and looked away. His eyes seemed glassy, but tears did not form. Draco didn't know what to say.

_I'm sorry! _he wanted to scream, _I'm sorry for all of it! _

But instead he said, "We didn't have a funeral for…for my aunt. We aren't going to."

Harry looked at him impassively, "Why?"

Draco shrugged again but knew he would actually have to give a reason.

"My mother said something about a funeral being about respect and celebrating a person's life. There was nothing to celebrate, and my mother doesn't have any respect for her sister," and then he added, "For that sister."

Harry seemed to pick up on the addition and raised his eyebrows but then Draco let the question slip before he could stop himself.

"What about Granger? Is she ok? My aunt…it was so horrible."

Again, Harry's face changed into a hard mask and he nodded curtly.

"She's alive," was all he said.

"And her parents?" he pressed on. He didn't know why of all the things they could discuss he was focusing on Hermione-Sodding-Granger.

Harry looked curious about his sudden interest and replied quickly, "We aren't sure yet. Their's was the only house that wasn't destroyed. Hermione didn't hide it, she put a charm so it looked like someone had already been there and burned it down."

"Wow," Draco said. "She really is bloody brilliant." His voice came out flat, though he truly felt admiration for the muggle-born girl. _Not Mudblood._

Harry furrowed his brow.

"Listen, I'm not sure why you are asking, but if you are really that interested maybe you can talk about it with her another time. There is a reason that I asked you to come to the Ministry today."

Draco was taken aback. _Potter had invited him to the Ministry? Does he even have that authority? _

"I was under the impression that the Minister wished to speak with me today," he answered, nonplussed.

"Well, he does, but it's because we've been discussing your family's role in this whole…mess," he finished, seeming to lack a better word for everything that had happened in the past year.

It was what Draco feared. The boy he had tormented throughout his entire school career held his family's fate in his hands. _Sonofabanshee._

Harry continued, "While it does seem to be common knowledge that your family defected from Voldemort at the end of the war, there of course needs to be a trial for you and your parents, as well as protections put in place, and some publicity to 'repair' your family's reputation."

Draco was completely lost. Instead of discussing Draco's future life-sentence he was going on about protection and reputations. Meanwhile his father was already in Azkaban and he and his mother were living in a Muggle hotel. He put out his hands to stop Harry's train of thought.

"Hang on, can you just-stop for a minute?" he asked.

Harry stopped talking and looked at him impatiently. Draco went on,

"I don't...what's this about trials and protections and, did you say _repairing our reputations_?"

Harry sighed and pushed himself up out of the chair with some effort. He sat on the edge of Kingley's desk and faced Draco.

Draco felt the reflexive desire to say something snide about his authoritative demeanor but held back. Instead he just said, "Can you start from the beginning, please?!"

Harry nodded and looked him in the face, Draco tried not to wince.

"We…um, I mean the Ministry, are willing to help your family. In exchange for information."

Draco sighed. He had a feeling this might be one of the options his family was given. He also knew his parent's would never go for it. Death Eater's did not forgive informants.

Harry seemed to read his mind because he said, "You would not be expected to publicly persecute any Death Eaters. In fact, it will be quite the opposite."

Seeing Draco's confused face Harry pushed on before he could be interrupted.

"If your family gives the Ministry all the information you know about the Death Eaters that are at large and awaiting trial, your family will be placed under protection. Your father, however-"

"Deserves to be in Azkaban. Yeah, I know," Draco finished for him.

"Right, but even he is being offered a reduced sentence for his information. Also, his presence needs to be registered in the prison by the other Death Eaters. They would never see you or your mother because of how the prison is laid out, but they would notice if he wasn't there."

Draco was bewildered. "Wait, so are we going to prison or not?"

"Not," Harry said, "If you cooperate."

"I know you were being forced against your will to help Voldemort. But I also know that you almost killed Katie Bell and Ron. And that stunt in the Room of Requirement…" he shook his head.

"I'm sorry," Draco said, barely a whisper.

"You don't have to-" Harry started, but Draco spoke over him.

"I really am sorry. About Katie, and Ron. And Bill. And Dumbledore. I'm not sorry I gave you a hard time," he spat, pointing a shaky finger at Harry, "You were a right prat. And then Granger, knew every damn book off by heart…" He knew he was rambling and he gave Harry a sideways glance to see he was waiting to hear what Draco had to say with a look of surprised curiosity on his face.

"I never wanted to kill anyone. I never really understood, you know. _Death._ It was never something that was taken seriously in our house. People who died deserved it, according to my father. But then when He threatened to kill my parents, what could I do? They didn't deserve it. And then I had my wand pointed at Dumbledore, but I couldn't. He didn't deserve it, either. It wasn't right." He felt like he was going to cry. He turned his head away from Harry to collect himself.

"I know. I was there," was Harry's response, and Draco whipped his head back to look at him.

"I was petrified by Dumbledore, under the cloak. But I saw and heard everything that happened. I know you lowered your wand. And I know you didn't want Greyback there."

As loath as Draco was to admit it, these words brought him comfort. He didn't think he needed Harry to understand, but it was like a weight lifted off of him to know that he did.

"So, what's the plan then? You said something about reputations. And I don't really understand how we're supposed to give information without being informants," Draco said, needing to change the subject away from these touchier subjects.

"Right, so it's a two-part plan. Firstly, you and your parents will have private trials with the Minister, the Interim-Head of Magical Law Enforcement and the Head of the Auror Department. There will be some witnesses as well," Harry gestured to himself, "Then, the panel will decide what the exact course of action will be regarding your sentences." He put up a hand when Draco went to interrupt. "Your family has committed crimes. But Azkaban isn't the only option. I expect you and your mother to be put on magical probation with a temporary trace. There was also talk about community service and charity when the time comes."

Draco nodded, waiting for Harry to continue.

"Like I said, your father will have to go to Azkaban for a time. The Minister thinks that even if he is released early because of good behavior it won't raise too many suspicions amongst the Death Eaters because of how well connected and wealthy your family is.

"The second part will involve very publicized, staged trials. These will be held in front of the full Wizengamot and will result in you and your mother being given fake sentences. At these trials you will be interrogated and asked to inform against other Death Eaters but you will refuse. You can be as vocal about your refusal to do so as possible. I will not be at these trials so it is unlikely there will be anyone present to speak of your defection. We want it to get back to as many Death Eaters as possible that your family was opposed to helping the Ministry and that you are all serving time in Azkaban."

Draco was impressed. He noticed that Harry had gone from saying 'The Ministry' to 'we' again. He had a feeling that this plan was probably hatched by none other than 'the most brilliant witch of her age'.

"But," Draco started, "what if my mother and I are spotted when we are supposed to be in Azkaban?"

Harry gave him a stern look and then said, "Well you better do your best not to be spotted, hm? I do actually imagine that you will be put under some sort of 'house arrest' for your protection for about a year. By that time we- er, the ministry- will hopefully have rounded up any of the big offenders and then you might be able to get out a bit. Again, I don't think it will come as a big surprise if you or your mother were released early from Azkaban for good behavior. I think the Minister will be going over more details with you and your parents tomorrow. Do you have any other questions until then?"

Draco said the first question that came to his lips, "So do you work for the Ministry now?" He tried not to sneer, but he could hear it in his voice. _Merlin he sounded obnoxious._

Harry smirked a little but answered, "In a way. I told the Minister I'd help round up Death Eaters as sort of an unofficial Auror. I also told him I'd attend the trials of certain Death Eaters. Once everything is in the clear I'll attend the Auror academy and then become an official Auror. "

Draco snorted, "Why are you even bothering with the academy? Surely you could just walk into the Auror office and take it over?" He sounded a little sarcastic but he did actually mean it. _Like they would make the Boy Who Lived- TWICE-take an Auror exam._

Harry answered quietly, looking solemn, "Just because I killed Voldemort, doesn't mean I know what it means to be an Auror. It's a lot more involved than all that. I mean, even the most talented Aurors are always in danger on a job. Look at Lupin…and Tonks…" he sighed and frowned at his feet.

Draco wanted to change the subject again. Nymphadora Tonks was his first cousin. And she was killed by their Aunt. Somehow everything seemed to come back to him.

"So where will we be staying? While we're in hiding, I mean?"

Harry started. He seemed to have been lost in thought.

"Oh, uh, Grimmauld Place."

"Where?" Draco asked, confused, but then he realized, "Wait, isn't that _your _house?! We can't, I'm mean, we couldn't..." he trailed off as Harry raised a hand to explain.

"Technically no, it's my Godfather's house and your Great Aunt's house. I own it, but I don't want to live there. It makes a very good hideout and I doubt anyone would think that you would be hiding at Harry Potter's."

Harry said these things simply, as if he couldn't care less that his least favorite classmate would be staying in his house but Draco couldn't let it go.

"But, after everything, why are you helping me? We aren't exactly friends."

They looked at each other seriously for a moment and then, quite unexpectedly, Harry snorted and actually laughed.

After a few moments he calmed himself and wiped a few tears from his eyes.

"I think that's an understatement, Draco."

Draco smirked and replied, "Yeah, exactly. So why do you care?"

He had to know. Harry looked at him sideways as if he was keeping a secret.

Finally, he spoke, "If you must know, it doesn't have much to do with you. I still think you are a two-faced coward and I'm not really ready to trust you. But your mother risked her life to get in that castle and find you. She lied to Voldemort's face and, in doing so, helped bring him to his final end. I can relate to her love for you, even if I don't understand it, or share it." He gave Draco an amused look and he returned it with a grimace. His mother never told him exactly what happened in the forest, just that Voldemort and Harry had dueled and that he seemed to be dead for a time but then miraculously was not. He guessed this wasn't exactly the truth.

"So were you really dead?" he blurted, immediately turning scarlet.

Harry furrowed his brow and stood up.

"I'm going to go get Kingsley, he'll brief you on what's next."

And with that he opened the door and walked away.

Draco slumped down in the chair and blew a piece of his long white hair out of his eyes.

* * *

_A/N 2: This gives you an idea of the complicated interactions to come between Draco and Harry. _

_I also wanted to respond to a review I got about my Ron/Hermione chapter from Fluff-is-awesome. Thought the 'trio' has been written as doing most everything together, I will not be writing them that way all the time. They are growing up and have been neglecting their own needs for a long time. Plan to see each of them tackling challenges alone, or with different characters, as the story unfolds. _

_Tomorrow we will be seeing things again from the POV of Mr. Harry James Potter! More Ministry plus a peek at what's going on in Hermione's world and a peek at harry's relationship with Ginny!_


	6. Repairs- Harry

_Author's Note 1: This is __the longest chapter I've written so far because although it's from Harry's POV it involves a lot of characters._

_I was going to wait to post this but I don't want to keep it to myself! _

_Remember that this fic is rated T for some sexually suggestive scenes. This chapter is a good example of why. _

_***I do not own Harry Potter***_

* * *

**May 8- Repairs**

**Harry**

Harry woke up feeling better than he ever had in his life. He was warm and comfortable in the magically enlarged bed, snuggled against the soft pale skin of Ginny, whose long red hair was draped over his bare chest. He inhaled deeply into her back, and was immediately, almost embarrassingly, aroused by her floral scent. He heard a giggle.

"Are you smelling me Harry?"

He wrapped his arms around her tighter and whispered, "So what if I am?"

"I _suppose _I'll allow it," she retorted as she pressed herself against him. He coughed in embarrassment of his current state.

"Happy to see me?" she asked coyly.

"I'm always happy to see you Ginny," he said, pretending not to get the meaning of her question.

She laughed. "You aren't always _that_ happy to see me," she said and pressed her bottom right against his groin, making him groan involuntarily.

"Yeah well..." was all he managed to get out before he started kissing her neck and caressing her bare skin.

Suddenly she turned to face him and put her hand on his face.

"Last night was perfect Harry. I love you so much. But I'm also really bloody sore. I think we'll have to wait for round two, ok?" She leaned in and gave him a light kiss on the lips.

He blushed. He couldn't help it. Even though they had now shared every part of themselves with each other, even though he had faced unbelievable evil throughout his life, he still had a very hard time looking at his naked girlfriend and discussing their sexual activities. Seeming to sense his awkwardness she smiled and said, "It's nothing to be shy about Harry. I can't wait to relive last night again," she kissed him, "and again, and again," she kissed him twice more, on each of his cheeks, "But just not right now or else I don't think I'll be able to walk downstairs to breakfast!"

He laughed and threw a pillow at her as she got out of bed. As she stood up the sight of her bare body in the early morning sunlight took his breath away.

"You are so beautiful," he stated.

She put her hands on her hips and gave him a wink, "Glad you think so."

She turned and rummaged in her drawers for fresh clothes. Watching her get dressed was actually more wonderful than it had been watching the reverse the night before, when he was too nervous to fully appreciate what he was seeing. Now, watching her, relaxed and full of confidence as she dressed in front of him, he felt like the luckiest man in the world.

"I'm starving. I'm going to head down to breakfast and then go fly for a bit. What time are you and Hermione headed to the Ministry?" she said, sitting on the edge of the bed next to him.

He stretched and placed his hand over her lap, "We have to be there by 9. I better pop into the shower and get ready."

They looked at each other for a moment and when it became clear that he wasn't going to get out of bed until she left, Ginny laughed, gave him a quick peck and headed downstairs.

Harry threw his pyjamas on, grabbed a towel and made his way to the bathroom. As he approached the door, it swung open and he was met with a freshly showered Ron. Harry panicked. He wasn't sure why but he felt like Ron would be able to tell. That he would be able to see it on him, what he and Ginny had done.

But Ron just grunted, "Morning," and shuffled back to his room.

Harry exhaled deeply and then started getting ready for his trip to the Ministry.

By the time he was showered, groomed, and dressed it was half past 8. Ron was clumsily helping Hermione insert a few hairpins into the intricate knot of hair at the nape of her neck. "Not so hard, Ronald, that is my head, you know?" Mrs. Weasley was distractedly tidying up the kitchen and said "No time for a full English, hm? There are some sandwiches there for you," three glasses of pumpkin juice flew on the table, "and some juice."

"Thanks," they all said at once, each grabbing a sandwich and a glass from the table.

Mrs. Weasley looked up with her red-rimmed eyes and gave them a watery smile. "Good luck today," she said, then nodded and walked into the sitting room, dusting with her wand as she went.

They all looked at each other quietly and sadly as they made quick work of the bacon sandwiches and walked over to the fireplace. Harry was still too nervous to look directly at Ron but instead spoke to the nub of sandwich in Ron's hand, "So what's your plan for today? I thought you'd be enjoying a lie-in," he tried to say evenly, though his heart was pounding loudly in his chest.

Ron swallowed his last bite and replied, "Oh, I told George I'd check on the joke shop for him. He hasn't been there since the…before…well, you know. I reckon he doesn't want to go over there yet. I don't blame him. I'm not actually chuffed to go there either but it'd be a shame if some smelly old sneak thief like Mundungus got in and made off with all the inventory." With that Ron grabbed a large handful of Floo Powder off the mantle and tossed it into the hearth. As the flames turned green he leaned over and gave Hermione a light peck on the lips. "Bye then," he said tenderly.

Then he turned to Harry and raised an eyebrow in suspicion. Harry blushed involuntarily and looked at his shoes. As he stepped into the flames he pointed a finger at Harry and said, "You specky git," then "Diagon Alley!" and disappeared into the flames.

After he was gone, Harry let out a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair.

"What was that all about, Harry?" asked Hermione, finishing her pumpkin juice and sending the glass to be washed in the sink. Harry just shook his head and said, "Shall we go?"

They both grabbed Floo Powder and made their way directly to the Minister for Magic's office.

Harry was surprised to see that they were the last ones to arrive in the somewhat cramped office. It did seem as though Kingsley had enlarged the room for the occasion, seeing as three people were sitting comfortably behind his desk and there was still plenty of room for five chairs on the other side of it.

Three of these chairs were already occupied with the Malfoys. Draco and Narcissa were dressed in formal robes while Lucius was wearing the ones given to the prisoners of Azkaban.

"Welcome," said Kingsley, as they made about brushing soot from their robes. "Please have a seat," he directed them to the chairs opposite from the Malfoys and continued, "I was just discussing the finer points of our plan with the Malfoy family." Harry heard Lucius snort but no other reaction was made by anyone in the room. Kingsley walked around to the front of his desk and leaned against it, holding a long sheet of parchment.

"Lucius has agreed to go first and will testify under the influence of veritaserum at his own request," Harry looked at Hermione and saw his shocked expression mirrored on her face. "Then," Kingsley continued, "his testimony will be followed by Mrs. Malfoy's, which will be more for corroboration than further information. Narcissa has opted to testify without the use of veritaserum, for personal reasons. Draco will speak last and will then be joined by his family for the final verdict of the panel."

Kingsley then looked to Harry as if expecting feedback. "What role will we have in all of this Minister? I know you asked us here as witnesses, but it sounds like you won't really need any testimony from us."

This time it was Auror Robards to speak, "On the contrary, Mr. Potter. While the information we receive from the Malfoys today may be of great use in apprehending the Death Eaters at large, they must still answer for their crimes. Your testimonies will assist in helping the panel make an appropriate decision about their sentences."

At this, Narcissa spoke up, "Sentences? I was under the impression that my son and I would not be sentenced as per this arrangement."

"As I have already explained, Mrs. Malfoy," Kingsley said, before Robards could reply, "although it has been decided that you and your son will not spend time in Azkaban, reparations must be made for the damage done by your family and the people you have chosen to associate with. Today's proceedings will decide what actions, if any, will be necessary for you and your family to repay your debt to society."

Narcissa did not seem completely satisfied with this answer but did not argue.

"Very well," said Kingsley, with a clap of his hands, "Miss Clearwater, if you wouldn't mind escorting everyone except Mr. Malfoy into the waiting chambers, we can begin."

Harry hadn't recognized Penelope Clearwater until then. She had seemed much older sitting behind the Minister's desk, furiously scribbling notes and sending memos as the Minister caught them up. Now she was standing before them, looking very professional, except for a tinge of pink in her cheeks. They all stood up and followed her through a door that connected the Minister's office to an enclosed waiting room. Harry hung back as the two Malfoys and Hermione took seats on opposite sides of the room from each other.

"I didn't know you were the Head of Magical Law Enforcement, Penelope," he said quietly.

'I'm not," she whispered back, "I'm just an interim. I was in training, under Miss Bones…" she trailed off but then stood up straight and smoothed the front of her robes as she addressed the room, "Please wait here until you are called."

They sat in silence, except for the occasional tapping of Draco's foot, for about 15 minutes before Penelope opened the door again.

"Mrs. Malfoy, Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, follow me please," she said.

Harry looked over at Narcissa and her son. She was giving his hand a loving squeeze as she murmured something to him. He felt a pang of jealousy that even someone as annoying as Malfoy got to experience a mother's love.

Harry followed Hermione and Narcissa back into the Minister's office. Lucius was gone and so Narcissa took the center seat while Harry and Hermione sat behind her. Penelope resumed her seat to the left of Kingsley and prepared her quill for note taking.

"Mrs. Malfoy," Kingsley began, "you understand that all the information you give in here will be kept in the strictest confidence as to protect you and your family, however, if this information is proven to be intentionally false or puts anyone at the Ministry in harm's way, this protection will be revoked?"

Narcissa nodded.

For the next ten minutes or so Narcissa Malfoy was asked several questions about the Death Eaters and their activities. When this part of the questioning was finished, Kingsley called upon Hermione to come forward.

She stood and wiped her hands on her robes before walking over to the enlarged desk. She did not look at Narcissa now, but instead seemed to focus on Penelope Clearwater, who was looking down at her parchment while taking copious notes.

"Miss Granger," began Gawain Robards, the new head of the Auror Office, "I understand that at one point this year you were captured by Snatchers and brought to the home of Mrs. Malfoy. Is this true?"

Hermione gave a stiff nod but did not elaborate.

"And can you tell us what happened to you while you at Malfoy Manor?" Robards asked.

Harry could see the sweat forming on Hermione's brow. She looked like she was trying to speak but couldn't make the words. Finally, he heard a woman's voice answer, but it was not Hermione's.

"If I may," said Narcissa, "I can testify to what happened, and Miss Granger can fill in anything I may have missed."

Kingsley answered first, "I'll allow it."

Narcissa took a deep breath and went on to explain what happened upon their arrival at Malfoy Manor. Harry was surprised that she spoke so candidly, incriminating herself, her husband and her late sister in the process. When it came to Hermione's torture she spoke very quickly and plainly, "My sister used the Cruciatus Curse on Miss Granger in an attempt to get information about the Sword of Gryffindor, which was in their possession at the time however, this proved fruitless and she was subsequently rescued by Potter and Weasley."

Harry felt that it was much more involved than that but one look at Hermione's relieved face made him think twice about elaborating.

"And did you make any attempt to stop your sister from using that heinous curse on an innocent young girl?" asked Robards now, looking at Narcissa with disgust.

To this question Narcissa actually laughed. "I was never stupid enough to get in the way of my insane sister. She never stepped in when Yaxley or Dolohov or Goyle would get drunk and…" she trailed off and Harry had a sick feeling that he knew why she had requested to testify without the use of veritaserum.

He was glad of the distraction when he was then called upon to testify in Narcissa's defense. He gave Hermione's hand a quick squeeze and he took her place at the front of the office. Immediately, he went into the story about how Narcissa lied to Voldemort after he survived the killing curse for the second time. He also testified that upon entering the castle neither she nor Lucius joined the fight but ran off to look for their son. Kingsley nodded and did not press him for more information, having already received a much more detailed statement in private about everything that had occurred during their hunt for the Horcruxes.

"Alright then," Kingsley said, handing off the paper he was reading to Penelope and looking at a new one, "I think that's all we need from you Mrs. Malfoy. I will speak to Draco briefly and then we will review your cases together."

Narcissa made to get up but Robards spoke once more, "Mrs. Malfoy, may I ask one more thing of you?"

"What's that?" she asked sharply, seeming to have grown impatient with his prying.

"May I see your left arm?" he asked, leaning forward from the desk.

Narcissa Malfoy stood as straight and proud and Harry has ever seen her and pulled her left sleeve back with long, pointed fingers to reveal a bare forearm.

"Ah-huh," said Robards, sitting back down.

Narcissa walked towards the door and then turned to face the panel again, "I may have fallen in love with a misguided man, but I am no Death Eater."

And with that she left the room and slammed the door behind her.

Harry realized he was still standing awkwardly at the front of the room. As he made his way back to where Hermione was sitting he noticed that she was very pale and shaking. He turned back to face the panel.

"Minister, if I may?"

Kingsley did not look up from his paper but waved Harry back towards the desk. He walked all the way to the edge of the desk and leaned over slightly.

"Sir, as I've already given you my testimony about Draco, I'd like to request that I take Hermione home. I don't think we can be anymore help today."

Kingsley looked up at him now and glanced back to look at Hermione. He nodded solemnly.

"Of course, Harry. And for good measure," the Minister waved his wand and conjured a small vial, "have her take this calming draft. We can carry on without you for today."

Harry took the potion and gave his thanks.

"Hermione?" he said quietly as he approached her again. She looked up at him with wet eyes. "They said we could go. They already have my testimony for Draco." She glanced quickly at the panel. Both Kingsley and Penelope were busying themselves with paperwork and seemed to be ignoring the exchange. Only Robards looked curiously at them from behind the desk. She nodded her head and grabbed his arm. Before Harry knew it, she Disapparated them from the room.

They arrived with a faint 'pop' onto a Muggle street. Harry was bent over trying to prevent himself from losing his bacon sandwich all over his shoes. When he looked up, he saw Hermione pacing frantically in front of a dilapidated house that was covered in police tape and 'Do Not Enter' signs.

"Hermione," he said, hurrying over to her.

"I'm sorry, Harry, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me in there," she began, wringing her hands as tears fell on her pale cheeks. Harry remembered the potion Kingsley gave him and he pulled it from his robes. "Here, drink this," he said, offering her the vial.

She furrowed her brow and looked at it. "What is it?"

"A calming draft. Kingsley gave it to me before we left."

Even though she was extremely pale, Hermione flushed now, "Was I that bad? Oh, Harry! When am I going to get over this!" she wailed, sitting on the curb in front of the ruined home.

He joined her and placed the vial in her hand. "It's going to take time Hermione. You can't be so hard on yourself. This isn't like a test or a homework assignment. You can work as hard as you want but it's really just going to be a while before we all start to get past everything that's happened. And even then, there are some things that might never fully heal."

He was thinking of Sirius now and the guilt he still felt over two years after his Godfather's death. Hermione gave him a sad look that made him think she knew what he was thinking of. She looked at the vial in her hand and drank it down in one.

She held her breath for a moment and then exhaled.

"Well, that definitely wasn't a calming draft, Harry, but it did the trick," she said, standing up and turning to the wreckage behind them.

"What?" said Harry, getting up to look at her as she began waving her wand surreptitiously at the house. "Kingsley specifically said-"

"It was a Fortitudus potion. It gives a person strength and resolve. It did calm me, but if it was a true calming draught my thoughts would be hazy and unfocused, and I'd be a little drowsy. Kingsley was good to give me this instead."

Harry wasn't exactly sure what she was going on about, but was not in the mood for an impromptu potions lesson in the middle of a Muggle street, where Hermione was currently doing an extreme amount of public magic.

"What are you doing Hermione?" he asked now, watching her flourish her arm exaggeratedly as if doing some sort of strange dance.

"Just. A few. More. Counter. Spells," she said jerkily between arm movements. Harry looked back and forth down the street, waiting for a Muggle to appear at any moment. He looked back at Hermione when she said, "There we go," sounding quite satisfied.

"What…" but he stopped upon looking at the once destroyed building. The home was fully restored and now sat behind an intricate iron fence instead of a tangle of police tape. A letterbox was affixed to the gate with the name "Granger" above it in a fancy gold script.

He stared at her in amazement. He'd known that Hermione could do spells he hadn't ever even heard about before but he was constantly impressed when seeing her in action. As she swung the gate open he made to follow her but she stopped and looked back at him.

"Harry, if you don't mind, I think I'd like to spend some time in here by myself. Would you mind popping by the joke shop and telling Ron I'm here? I'd like it if he would come by after work."

Harry nodded as he took in the beautiful garden that surrounded the house. Just like the Burrow completely matched the personality of its inhabitants, he couldn't think of a more perfect place to represent Hermione Granger. He looked down suddenly when he noticed that Hermione was thrusting a small piece of parchment at him.

"Harry, please, take this to Ron and tell him to memorize and destroy it. You'd better do the same."

Harry looked at the parchment questioningly.

_Granger House 179 Cornerstone Rd, Gillingham_

"Fidelius Charm?" he asked as he folded up the parchment and placed it inside the moleskin pouch he still wore under his robes.

She nodded, "I'm Secret Keeper. If for some reason either of you forgets, you can send Pigwidgeon. I found a very interesting spell that makes a home plottable only to certain creatures. Actually Harry, I was reading through those Defense books that Sirius got you and found some of the most interesting spells. You really should…"

But Harry raised a hand to stop her though he was quite amused by her tangent. He hadn't seen Hermione this much like herself since, well, he couldn't remember.

"I'll go give this to him now, maybe he'll want to get some lunch."

She rolled her eyes and said sarcastically, "When has Ron _ever_ said no to lunch?"

He laughed and gave her a wave but then noticed her looking at him with that pinched expression she got when she was trying to decide whether or not to say something difficult.

"What is it, Hermione?" he asked, resigned. She blushed and looked down at the cobblestone pathway that lead to her front door.

"Well, it's just…" she hesistated, getting redder still. Harry worried that he knew what this might be about.

She continued, speaking very quickly, "It's just that _Muffliato _is only a temporary spell to block out conversations, Harry. You might want to practice a full-area silencer if you find you need to block out…other noises," she finished quietly before running up her front steps and entering her house.

_Oh no._ Harry thought. He wondered how much she and Ron had heard last night and whether popping into the joke shop for lunch now would simply be awkward or result in Harry getting punched in the mouth.

_Only one way to find out, _he thought as he took a deep breath and Disapparated.

* * *

_Author's Note 2: See a lot to cover in this one! There will be a fair amount of intimacy in this but I'm not one to write anything graphic. They are all in their late teens and I remember what I was like in my late teens (a million years ago). I want these interactions to be as authentic as possible. _

_Speaking of which, you know what tomorrow is? That's right-it's Luna's date with Neville, as told from the POV of the Lovely Luna herself! I want to write a light happy chapter because Sunday will be Fred's funeral and that is going to be some sad nonsense. _

_Thanks for reading and please keep reviewing! Reading them is the best part of my day!_


	7. Revelation- Luna

_Author's Note: What can I say about writing Luna? We all know she is kooky, she isn't afraid to say what she is thinking, she is brave and intelligent. She's also a teenage girl who has been through a lot in her life. I tried to fit all of that into 2000 words and I hope I did her justice. _

_Also, I really try to proofread these many times before I publish. I know there are sometimes grammar and spelling mistakes and I apologize. This chapter has a lot of intentional run-on sentences due to it being in Luna's POV. I just imagine her thinking in run-on sentences, if that makes sense._

_Thanks again for reading and reviewing! I love looking at the traffic map and seeing what far-off places my story is being read. I know Harry Potter isn't mine, but it's such a fun hobby and I really appreciate that other people can get enjoyment from it as well. _

_***As I said above, I do not own Harry Potter***_

* * *

**May 9- Revelation**

**Luna**

"Daddy I'm off!" called Luna from the bottom floor of the dusty and cluttered circular house. She could hear him upstairs, hammering something together. Repairs were still underway but the house was now livable again. Luna was optimistic that they wouldn't have to camp in the backyard tonight.

It had taken a few days, but Luna and her father had finally settled back into their old relationship. At first, she had been so relieved to see him she totally forgot what she knew about him trying to turn Harry, Ron and Hermione in to the Death Eaters. They had cried and hugged and relaxed with each other in the room he was renting at the Leaky Cauldron. The next day, when they Apparated to their destroyed home, some of the magic of the reunion had worn off.

Luna felt betrayed by her father, who had been her only parent and best friend for almost a decade and he had destroyed their house and betrayed the saviors of their world. He tried to explain, to apologize, but she couldn't bear it. She stayed at the Leaky Cauldron again that night, trying not to think about her father, alone in their ruin of a home, missing her.

Four days ago, she'd been having lunch with Harry, Ron and Neville. Neville had told them about his visit to see his parents and she knew she'd have to come home. She was so lucky that they both made it out alive and she had to fix it.

After lots of talking and going through the motions of repairing the house, Luna realized that she was no longer feeling angry at her father anymore. She thought about what she would've done to get him back if he had been taken by Death Eaters instead of her and that understanding helped to heal her heart.

She saw her father pop his head out onto the stairwell, "Are you leaving my dear? When should I expect you back? Are you sure you don't want me to come along?"

It had been this way all week. Every time Luna would try to go off and do something alone her father would barrage her with questions and requests. She was not annoyed, as this was quite a logical reaction following the events that had taken place over the last few months.

"Yes, Daddy, I'm sure I don't want you to come. I'm meeting Neville, remember? I'll be back by supper!" she blew him a kiss and he reached out to catch it, smiling, though still looking harried.

Luna skipped down the stairs and walked out past the number of protective spells she had placed on the house since arriving home. Then she turned on the spot and disappeared with a 'pop'.

When she arrived at the lake, she was surprised to find Neville already waiting under the tree she described to him in her letter. He had laid out a blanket, which he was currently kneeling on, and a long cloth that seemed to hold a variety of plant life.

"Hi, Neville!" she called, skipping over to him and placing her bag next to his blanket. Neville's head whipped around at her arrival. He took a minute to reply as he stared at the periwinkle sundress she had chosen for the day. She wanted to ask him if he liked it, but she liked it, so that's all she really cared about.

"Oh, hi, Luna," he said distractedly, "Come have a look at this." She saw the he was cradling something small and wet in his hands. She knelt down next to him and smoothed her skirt over her bare thighs.

"I think it's a kind of _piscisalgarum," _he said, cradling the flopping plant. Luna did not know much more about herbology than what she was taught at Hogwarts but she was excited to share in Neville's enthusiasm for this tiny plant-like creature.

She watched him as he perused a page of the large textbook in front of him; comparing the photos to the specimen he was currently holding. He was dressed in a short sleeved collared shirt and a pair of black slacks. His arms were covered in wet mud up to the elbow and his trainers were also caked. Luna thought he looked especially handsome like this and wondered if the opportunity to kiss would arise on their date.

"It doesn't seem to match any of the other species in the book," Neville said now, looking to her as if she'd have some insight. Her heart swelled at his look. No one ever wanted the opinion of 'Loony Lovegood'.

"Maybe you've discovered a new one?" she suggested, scooting closer to him to get a better look at the plant, which was long, thin and neon green with purple veins that ran vertically from its wriggling roots. "This area is full of many undiscovered plant and animal life, I wouldn't be surprised if this type of piekey…"

"Piscisalagarum."

"Yes, if this one has never been seen by anyone before," she finished.

Neville smiled at her, "Do you reckon? Oh wow, Luna, that'd be brilliant!"

He placed the plant onto the long cloth and waved his wand. The plant stopped flopping and seemed to be attached to the paper.

Seeing her curious expression he told her, "Collecting charm. Good for cataloging plants."

She nodded, "What are you going to name it?"

He shrugged, "I dunno. What do you think?"

"How about, _Piscisalgaram Nevillus," _she suggested. He laughed, "I can't name it after myself, Luna."

"Why not? You discovered it?"

"Thanks, I guess you're right, I mean, I don't even know if it really it a new species, but that'd be really cool." He went to touch her arm and then pulled back, "Oh, sorry. I didn't realize I was such a mess." He pointed his wand at himself to clean off the muck but Luna said, "That's ok. I plan on getting rather dirty looking for plimpies."

She looked at him sideways and she began unloading her supplies and thought she saw him blush. She tried to remember everything Ginny had told her about dates and flirting. _Blushing was good? Or was it bad? _All she could remember was Rule Number One: Be Yourself.

So she asked, "Why are you blushing?"

Neville started, "I-I'm not." Now he was _really _blushing.

"You're face is all red."

He looked really uncomfortable now, "I-I-I dunno. Maybe sunburn? What's all the stuff?" he asked, changing the subject.

Luna looked down at the tools, "They are for detecting and catching magical creatures."

"But I thought you said plimpies were just a type of fish. Can't you just use a summoning charm?"

Luna was used to people like Ron asking stupid questions in order to make fun of her but Neville actually seemed curious.

"Well, regular plimpies prefer to be caught with a net, but amorphous plimpies cannot be caught, summoned, trapped or even seen, except with special glasses and only when they have just eaten and are very full."

She looked up at him with a smile, which he hastily copied.

"So first, we'll catch their food, then we'll feed them and then we can watch them with these." She picked up two large helmet-like objects with funny goggles attached.

Neville laughed but then shrugged him shoulders. "Ok, I'm in, let's go!"

They passed the afternoon hunting and feeding the invisible creatures. Luna was having a great time with Neville but she knew deep down that he didn't really believe her. She appreciated the company but also felt a little sad to be with someone who was simply humoring her, until…

"I see one! Luna! Is that it?"

She whipped her head around to look that the place he was pointing and she saw them. They looked like a mix between a catfish and a salamander; their little feet-like protrusions grabbing the tiny iridescent lightmites they had collected earlier. Neville looked incredulous and was laughing happily as the now-visible creatures swam around his emerged feet.

Luna couldn't help but return his laughter and walked over to join him in the plimpie pond.

"So what do you we do now?" he asked her as she put her toe out to tickle a plimpie. "How do we catch them?"

"We don't catch them. They are just to enjoy. As far as I know, this is the only lake that still has amorphous plimpies. Hopefully one day they'll be able to figure out how to encourage breeding before they go extinct."

They watched the creatures for a little while longer before Neville's stomach made an involuntary grumble.

"Er, sorry" he said, "Fancy some lunch?"

She nodded and removed her helmet. When she pushed her hair out of her face she managed to smear a large clump of mud across her forehead. "There's a nice café over in Ottery St. Catchpole or we could just go to the Leaky," she offered. She noticed that he was blushing again and looked nervous. She usually didn't care at all what other people thought about her but right now his behavior was making her feel unsure of herself.

"Actually, I packed us something, if that's alright?" he said, taking her hand to remove her from the muddy lake.

_Now? Do I do it now? I want to do it now. Should I wait until after we eat? _

"Neville," she said, and he looked up from cleaning himself off. She walked a little closer to him and he looked terrified. _No, not now, now is bad. _"That's really sweet. I'm glad you packed lunch."

Then she waved her wand over each of them and they were suddenly clean and dry.

Neville had brought a very nice lunch of different sandwiches, crisps, some fruit and a salad. They talked about all sorts of things as they ate. Even though it had only been a week since the battle, they were both content to talk about any else but that. Neville mentioned his upcoming work with the Auror Department and a Herbology workshop that he was planning on attending in August. Luna told him about the trip she was planning with her father to see their relatives in the Swiss Alps and the book she had gotten signed the week earlier. After lunch Neville vanished all the dishes and then pulled out a large piece of apple crumble from his bag. He passed Luna a clean fork and said, "I know pudding is your favorite."

She didn't even have to think this time. She leaned over and gave him a light kiss on the lips. When she backed away he was redder than Ron Weasley. "It-It's just pudding, Luna."

She laughed and took a bite.

"Well, it's quite good."

He laughed now too and scooted back to lean against the tree looking very content as he watched her devour the crumble. When it was almost gone she said, "Aren't you going to have any?"

He shrugged, "It's ok. I tried a bit this morning after I baked it."

_He baked this, for me?! Wait, out loud, Luna._

"You baked this? For me?"

"Well, I suppose. I mean, I guess I baked it and brought you a slice."

Luna pushed aside the plate and stood up. She took a few steps and then kneeled next to him.

"No one's ever brought me a slice of something they baked before," she said, leaning towards him slightly.

She heard Neville exhale deeply as if steadying himself, "No one's ever taken me to see amorous plimpies before," he replied, leaning slightly into her.

"Amorphous," she whispered as their mouths met.

Luna had kissed one other boy before. Justin Finch-Fletchley had kissed her under the mistletoe in her fourth year at Hogwarts. It had been a tight-lipped kiss but she was enjoying it until Justin stopped and said "You can't tell anyone about this ok?" She had nodded but then turned and left before he could see the tears in her eyes.

This kiss was different. Neville's mouth was moving against hers as if they were talking. She could taste butterbeer and strawberries and strong cheddar, which she thought should've been gross but instead made her want to kiss him more. She felt his hand come up to hold her face as he gave her one last firm kiss.

They looked at each other for a minute before Neville blurted out,

"Doyouwannabemygirlfriend?"

Luna beamed at him and nodded, "I'll be your girlfriend Neville."

"Cool," he replied, leaning back against the tree.

Luna turned and leaned against him so that they were both looking out on the lake.

"But as your girlfriend," she said, "you should probably know that I prefer treacle tart."

* * *

_Author's note 2: I like writing Luna, even though I feel like a crazy person while I'm doing it!_

_Pleasepleaseplease review as you read. I try to respond all reviews and PMs, especially if they involve questions. I love discussing the HP world with fellow fans. _

_Tomorrow (oh and when I say 'tomorrow' I mean in the HP world, not IRL) is Fred's funeral. It was a sad, meaningful chapter to write and I really look forward to sharing it with all of you!_


	8. Reflection- George

_Author's Note: Ok, I never thought I'd say this, but I cried as I was proofreading this chapter. When I'm writing them I don't really think too much; I'm just like "This, then this, then this, done." Then I go back and read through the whole thing to get the feeling of the chapter. I've read a lot of versions of Fred's funeral in different fics and I'm happy with the way this came out. I hope you enjoy it as well._

_Ratings note: This chapter has more crude language than the others because, well, it's George!_

* * *

**May 10- Reflection**

**George**

George stood in front of the bathroom mirror, continually tying and untying the stupid bowtie he had picked out for today. Finally, feeling his anger rise, he threw the crumpled fabric into the sink and clutched the vanity. He stared at his reflection and spoke, "You don't care if I wear a bowtie, do you? You wouldn't wear a stupid prat bowtie to mine." His reflection just stared back at him, all dark circles and messy red hair.

George found himself often talking out loud to Fred, especially in mirrors. When he saw himself, it was almost like Fred was still there. But he was gone. _You stupid git. _To say that George missed his twin very much would be an understatement. He ached for him. But he also hated him, resented him, envied him and loved him. They had always done everything together and now George was alone. He felt abandoned.

"You left me, you daft prick," he spat at the mirror once more before Disapparating back into his bedroom.

"Sweet Merlin's pants!" screamed Angelina when George popped into the room. Lee was startled as well but laughed hysterically at Angelina's reaction. George smirked slightly, looking back and forth at the two of them.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

Lee wiped his eyes and sat up again, having rolled back onto the floor from laughing. "Oh, your Mum told us to wait for you up here, she said you were just having a pre-funeral wank."

"Oi!" shouted George and Angelina at the same time, but then George added, "It's my brother's funeral, Lee, have a little respect! Wanking is for _after." _And Lee fell about laughing again as Angelina rolled her eyes in disgust.

"You three are foul," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

George caught the mistake but didn't correct her. 'You three' is how she had started most deprecating statements since their third year at Hogwarts, when she joined the Gryffindor quidditch team and began hanging around with the three of them full-time.

_You three are disgusting. You three better quit it. You three would never stand a chance. _

That last one had proved false, for sure. Fred had gotten there first; asking Angelina to the Yule Ball, getting the coveted first kiss, the first cop. _Lucky shite._ But then once the joke shop happened, they kind of fell apart. _Maybe they were always meant to just be best friends._

"So what's the plan?" Angelina asked now, breaking George out of his deep thoughts and Lee out of his giggling fit. George shrugged, "Dunno. Reckon everyone is going to be sad and 'sorry for my loss', ask how I'm holding up and all that."

"Well, yeah, that is the general idea, George, but I meant for the ceremony. Aren't you the MC of sorts?" she asked, walking over to get a better look at his haggard appearance.

"I guess. I mean, I didn't write anything. I tried, but it was all crap. Plus, don't you think it's a bit weird? Me standing up there? It'll be like Fred is conducting his own bloody funeral," he started fidgeting with the crumpled bowtie in his hands, feeling agitated.

Angelina reached out and grabbed his hands. She looked at him very seriously, "George, you know that's not true. No one is going to confuse you for Fred." He watched her, mesmerized as she placed one of her long brown fingers into her mouth. Then, she reached out as if she was going to caress his face but instead poked the finger into his exposed ear canal, "Fred had two ears, ya knob!" she laughed and he pulled away from her wet finger.

He laughed and grabbed her, pulling her into a tight hug. "You're the best, you know that?" he whispered into her hair.

"Yeah, I know," she replied.

"Ahem," came Lee from where he sat on George's bed, "I'm all for a comfort shag, but can it wait until I've left the room?"

Angelina scoffed at him and flicked her wand in his direction. He dived and just missed being hit by a very big, wet fish, which he then vanished. She pulled the bowtie from George's hand now and began to fix it around his neck.

"Nah, forget it," he said, struggling to get away, "I look like Percy in that stupid thing."

For as long he struggled, Angelina had it tied in about 10 seconds. "Shut it, you look handsome."

He smiled at her. _Man, she just gets better looking with age. _

They all heard music beginning to play out in the yard. George groaned, "Guess it's time, then."

They made their way downstairs and walked into the yard. Instead of the very proper, somber funerals of Remus and Tonks, George almost had to shield his eyes from the noise and color that surrounded him.

The music, he now realized, was the Weird Sisters, his brother's favorite band. There were purple balloons tied to red chairs and a keg of mead was set up off to the side. No one was wearing black and most people, his parents and brother Percy excluded, seemed to be chatting happily with one another. He felt himself start to fall but Angelina and Lee grabbed his arms.

"You ok, mate?" Lee asked.

"What is this? What's going on?"

Angelina hoisted him up on his feet again and shrugged, "Looks like a funeral for Fred Weasley if you ask me."

He barked out a laugh and nodded. This was most definitely a funeral fit for the likes of his brother.

Just then his mother ran up to him, looking ashen but determined.

"Oh, Georgie, is everything all right? I think we should start soon, if you're ready, that is."

He just nodded, still taking it all in.

"Okay, dear. I'm going to go up and then…well…" she trailed off with a sniff and made her way to the small podium at the front of a collection of the red chairs.

Pointing her wand to her throat Mrs. Weasley spoke, "Excuse me, everyone. If we could all take our seats," she paused as the group got quiet and made their way to the chairs. "I just wanted to," _sniff _"thank you so very much," _sniff _ "for c-c-coming today…" she broke off and began to cry in earnest. George watched as his brother Charlie got up and guided her back to the front row of seats, then he made his way back to the podium.

"My family and I would like to thank you for coming today. We are here to say goodbye to my brother Fred and to celebrate having had known him. To start off the proceedings, I would like to introduce the person who probably knew Fred better than anyone else. George? You ready?"

Charlie found George at the back of the room and made eye contact. George replied with a stiff nod and began to walk down the aisle towards the podium. He did not look at the people who came to pay their respects, but focused on the small stage he was moving towards. On one side was a large frame that kept changing to different photos of Fred. Photos of Fred and George on their first day of school, Fred and George in their Quidditch robes, Fred and George at the grand opening of their shop. On the other side was a long wooden box that shone golden in the sunlight.

George took a deep breath and climbed up to the podium.

"How's it hanging Freddie?" he asked the box. He could feel all eyes on him.

He turned, and began to speak.

"I don't really know what to say. To be honest, I never thought I'd be the one giving Fred's eulogy. I always figured that if one of us had to go, the other one would die too. We've always done everything together, so why not death?" He gestured to the photographs that were rotating next to him. "These photos are commemorating my brother, Fred," he pointed to the one that just came up, of both of them on brooms for the first time, "He's that one, there," then a photo of them opening matching jumpers on Christmas. He pointed to the boy holding the jumper with a 'G' on it, "and that's him too. You'd think it's me, Mum did," he sniffed and pointed a shaky hand at the next photo, showing them all in Egypt, "and there he is in this one," He turned back to the crowd and wiped his eyes.

"My whole life no one has really been able to tell us apart. We were always together. Always 'Fred and George'. _Fred _and George. I always tried for George and Fred but it didn't really have the same ring to it," A few laughs floated through the yard. "Now I'm just 'and George' and I don't really know what to do. I've never been solely to blame for anything. I've never had to take responsibility for anything. I've never gone anything alone. It's always been us," He noticed Minerva McGonagall looking at him as she wiped her eyes with a handkerchief and spoke to her directly, "We even shared a permanent record, didn't we? ' Fred and George filled a suit of armor with dungbombs.' 'Fred and George nicked 20 hams from the kitchen.' 'Fred and George sicced a Fanged Frisbee on Mrs. Norris.'" he listed methodically. McGonagall laughed at this and gave him a watery smile. He returned it.

"What I'm saying is, I'll never be as good as I was with Fred. I'll never be as bad, either. Or as smart, as funny, as cool, as miserable, as scared, as brave, as…_whole_…as I was with Fred."

He took a deep breath and looked at his family, filling the front row with smiles and tears and love for him. He addressed them now,

"I don't think any of us will be the same without him, but we have to learn to _be_ without him. To _live_ without him. To laugh and joke and take the piss out of Ron," at this he got a bigger laugh as he gave his little brother a wink, "we have to do all of it without him. Because he is gone. And even though my life is going to be less without him, I have to try and live it twice as fully, for the both of us," He turned back to the coffin with tears pouring down his face and said, "I'll miss ya, Fred. Goodbye."

Then he walked down from the podium and took a seat between his mother and Ginny, who leaned her head against his shoulder and squeezed his hand.

George's father got up now and waved his wand at the casket. It rose and they watched as it moved to its final resting place at the base of the huge oak tree that marked the boundary of their makeshift Quidditch pitch. Magically, the soil shifted and the casket settled into the earth below.

Next, he watched as his other brothers, Charlie, Bill, Percy and Ron, carried a large stone slab to the head of the freshly covered grave. They stood solemnly on either side of it, heads bowed. Then Ginny left his side, walked over to the headstone and waved her wand at it:

_Fred Weasley_

_April 1, 1978- May 2, 1998_

_Son, Brother, Friend, Marauder_

_"Humor is Emotional Chaos, Remembered in Tranquility"_

When she finished, Ginny fell to her knees and began sobbing forcefully, more forcefully than George had ever seen her cry about anything. He thought to the day after Fred had died, how lighthearted she had seemed, how levelheaded. Now she was kneeling on his twin's grave, clawing at the dirt and screaming like a banshee. He looked around and noticed some people seemed embarrassed for her, for the scene she was causing. He heard Luna whisper to Neville, who were both sitting in the row behind him, "Oh, there it is, her grief finally found her," she said, almost cheerfully.

He stood up and walked over to Ginny's crumpled form, which was now in fetal position, shaking, as four of her brothers looked down at her helplessly.

He crouched by her side, "C'mon Ginny, it's alright."

"No!" she screamed, "No, it's not alright! How can you say that George?! How can you lie to me!"

He reached out and grabbed her arm to pull her up but she pulled it back just as forcefully. Harry approached now and looked at him but he just shook his head.

"Go mingle, all of you," he said to his brothers and Harry. They walked away, all wiping tears from their faces as George stayed with his sobbing sister.

After a few minutes her sobs lessened and he leaned down to whisper in her ear, "You know, your limbs don't look broken, so are you going to get up or do I have to hex you?"

She looked up at him now but he was taken aback by her expression. He thought it'd be defiant or fiery or even amused, but it was desperate, broken, bewildered.

"George," she croaked, and reached out a hand to him.

"Good guess," he replied as he took her hand, Disapparating them upstairs to her room.

Ginny crumpled, fully clothed onto her bed, still crying softly. George pulled off her shoes and used his wand to arrange her blankets over her. He moved around to the side of her bed to face her. She looked at him with bloodshot eyes and said, "I'm sorry. I ruined everything didn't I?"

He gave her a warm smile and pushed the wet, matted hair off her forehead.

"Nah, I think Fred ruined it, actually. Talk about being the death of the party."

She sniffed but did not laugh. George pulled a tiny bottle from inside his dragon-hide jacket.

"Here, have some of this," he said, handing her the bottle.

"What is it?" she said, taking it in her tiny hand.

"Weasley's Woozes. It's a fail-safe nap potion. To help you rest."

She nodded and drank all of it down, then let the bottle fall to the floor.

"Thanks."

He nodded.

"You want me to get Harry for you?" he asked, feeling a little jealous of the fact that he would be her preferred person of comfort. To his surprise, she shook her head.

"No, I just want to be left alone," she slurred, as her eyelids got heavy.

George gave her a kiss on the cheek and then left the room, locking the door behind him.

When he got back downstairs he was pleased to find that his friends had done a good job of distracting everyone from Ginny's dramatic scene as many people were laughing at some photo albums his Mum had put out on a table, while others were dancing to the Weird Sisters and others still seemed to be tapping the keg of mead dry.

He saw Angelina talking to Ron over by the keg and walked over to join them.

"Hi you two," he said, getting himself a glass and giving his brother's arm a squeeze.

"Hi," they both replied, and then Ron added, "How's Ginny?"

"Sleeping. I think she wore herself out, somehow..." he smirked at the two but got nothing in return.

Hermione walked up behind him and joined in the conversation, "You know, it makes sense, really. She hasn't really grieved over Fred since that first night. I think she was just so concerned with all of you that she never got a chance to feel the loss."

George gave her an impressed look as Ron put his arm around her and squeezed, "My incredibly insightful girlfriend."

"Oh, is she your girlfriend, Ron?" asked George in mock surprise, "This is news to me! I say, Harry!" Harry looked round from where he was chatting with Oliver Wood, "Did you know that Hermione was Ron's _girlfriend?_ I swear this is the first I've heard of it!" Harry smiled and rolled his eyes.

"Shuddup!" said Ron, giving him a shove.

The evening carried on this way until the sun began to set and the guests made their way home with various 'pop's and 'crack's resonating through the field over the hill.

Finally, around nightfall, the only people left in the yard were the Weasley brothers, Harry, Angelina, Lee, Oliver, Katie and Alicia. The group moved some chairs so they could gather around Fred's grave and sat in silence for a moment. Then Lee produced a bottle of Firewhisky and conjured twelve shotglasses. He poured the liquor out and sent the glasses flying to each person seated.

"You poured an extra," noted Percy.

"Did I?" said Lee as he sent that glass to rest on the top of Fred's tombstone.

They all held their glasses aloft and Charlie said, "To Fred."

"Fred," the rest of the replied, then drank the firewhisky down in unison.

Lee coughed and then flicked his wand at Fred's glass, causing the shot to empty over the mound of dirt in front of the tombstone.

A few moments later there was a large burst of color above the oak tree and several of them gasped at the sight. For the next few minutes the sky was alight with an array of Weasley's Wild-Fire Whizz-Bangs. They all 'oohed' and 'aahed' at the shapes, colors and designs that lit up the sky.

When everything went quiet Ron looked over at George. "That was impressive. Really nice touch."

George looked at him curiously, "I agree, but I didn't do that. I thought it was you."

"Me?!" said Ron, incredulously, "Why me?"

"Well, you're the only one that's been at the shop. I thought maybe you brought them home with you and you lot helped set them up," he gestured to Angelina and Lee.

They both shook their heads.

"So wait," said Hermione, her voice shaky, "no one here is responsible for those fireworks?"

Everyone stared around blankly, looking confused.

George took another long sip of firewhisky and smiled at the tombstone.

_Show off._

* * *

_Author's Note 2: Whew! That's that! I hope you liked my take on what will likely be the saddest part of this story. As you may have guessed, Lupin and Tonk's funerals have already happened and I won't be writing any other funerals for the many that died at the Battle. Sorry, but this fic is about moving forward and that's what I intend to do!_

_Tomorrow is from Harry's POV and will take place at the Ministry. As I just wrote to MandyinKC (who sent me the most thoughtful and insightful PM ever!) I hate writing about the Ministry. I'm not big into politics and I find it boring and tedious. In an effort to make it more exciting, I'll be focusing mostly on the Auror department. Please forgive me for glossing over some of the more __logistical aspects of the Ministry and just trust that Kingsley is taking care of it!_

_Finally, the quote in Fred's epitaph is by James Thurber, who is __considered one of the most famous humorists in the world._


	9. Reclamation- Harry

_Author's Note: Hi! Sorry for the delay! It was the usual suspects, real life and creative stasis, that were to blame. This story week will take place heavily with the Ministry and the trio, but other characters will be featured. _

_Thank you for all of your wonderfully thoughtful reviews and PMs! I love reading them and discussing the story and characters. Please be patient with me as I do have a lot of material started but I won't be posting as often as I was initially. Probably one post per week for a while._

**_**I do not own Harry Potter**_**

* * *

**May 11- Reclamation**

**Harry**

Harry craned his neck to look up at the closed windows of Ginny's room. He hadn't bothered last night, at her request, but he was hoping to check in on her before his first official day at work. He attached a note to Pigwidgeon's leg and told the bird "Don't let anyone read this except Ginny, alright?"

The owl hooted happily and flew circles around Harry's head before fluttering up to the windowsill.

"Especially not Ron," he muttered as he Disapparated to the Ministry.

Harry and Ron's interactions had been slightly awkward since the other day when Ron and Hermione had _overheard _Harry and Ginny. They hadn't talked about it, but sometimes Harry would catch Ron glowering at him and before he could ask what was wrong Ron would walk away or pretend to busy himself with something. He wanted to believe that maybe this was a sign that Ron was growing up, however he suspected that Hermione likely had something to do with it. Considering they now shared a job, an office and even a desk, he was glad for the fact that Ron was restraining his more violent urges.

He walked into the cramped office to find Ron, Neville, Susan and Walten Savage all bent over the long desk that he shared with Ron. They all seemed to be looking at a map of a building that Savage was drawing lines on.

"Morning," he said to the room, but only Susan looked up at his greeting. She smiled but waved him over urgently. He squeezed in between her and Neville and tried to catch up.

"So if Longbottom and Bones are positioned here," Savage made a mark. "then you and I, Ron, we'll flank the sides," two more marks, "and then Potter will be our aerial, since he's best on a broom. Where is Potter?" he asked, not looking up.

"I'm here, sir."

Auror Savage glanced at him quickly and nodded, "Ok good, so you'll be the point person on aerial, that way if they try to escape on brooms we'll have a fighting chance."

Harry was embarrassed to ask but he was apparently missing something. "I'm sorry sir, but if who try to escape?"

He felt himself blush as everyone looked at him.

Savage furrowed his brow with impatience but answered, "Why Potter, we have intelligence that Lestrange, Nott, Carrow and Rowle have all been spotted entering and exiting this residence. There could even be more that we don't know about. It seems like they might be using it as a place to get off the street during the day. The raid will happen tomorrow! Honestly Potter, where have you been?"

_Tomorrow?_ The way they had spoken in their meetings with Kingsley and Robards last week, Harry thought that big raids like this were being left to the fully trained Aurors.

"I'm sorry sir, I just don't understand why the Ministry is entrusting such a huge raid to Junior Aurors, and so soon."

Savage barked a laugh, "Do you reckon we should wait until you've settled in then?"

Harry could feel his anger rising at Savage's derisive tone. "No, but I think you would be more successful at actually capturing these Death Eaters if you sent us out fully prepared, with a real plan and not just some maps and a one-person aerial team!" He looked around at his fellow Junior Aurors, only Susan looked shocked by his outburst.

Savage was unimpressed. "So what would you have us do, then?"

Harry looked at the map, but it didn't make any sense. He thought about all the plans he had devised this year with Hermione, Ron, and even Griphook. Even though many of those plans went awry, he was learning from experience.

"Well first off, you need more people. One official Auror and one of us for every potential Death Eater that's in the hideout. So, in addition to the four of us," he gestured to himself, Ron, Neville and Susan, "and you, we'll also need three other fully qualified Aurors. Also, even if some will be positioned on the ground, everyone needs access to a broomstick."

"_If_? Surely you plan to have some Aurors on foot?"

Harry shrugged, "Honestly, I don't know. Ron?"

He looked at Ron now and raised his eyebrows, "You have eight pieces to work with, four are vital and the others are strategic."

Ron gave him a quick smile and was about to speak but was cut off by Savage, "What are you going on about, Potter? What pieces?"

"Chess," said Neville. "Ron is brilliant at chess, he can do this."

Harry conjured eight small blocks on the desk. Ron looked at the map of the building for a moment and then started to place the blocks in various configurations around the map. They all waited quietly, except for Savage who tapped his wand impatiently on the desk, occasionally emitting red sparks. After a few more minutes Ron leaned back and looked at his handiwork.

"There," he stated simply.

Savage looked over the configuration and seemed hesitantly impressed. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Explain."

Ron exhaled and pulled out his wand.

"Ok, so, short of blasting a hole in one of these walls, there are eight main exits," He waved his wand and the exits lit up on the map. "These three," they glowed red, "would leave a person extremely exposed to even a one-on-one attack. That doesn't mean they won't try it, especially if they think they are cornered. Which they will be."

Harry looked around to see everyone's attention captivated by Ron's explanation. He felt himself swell with pride as he watched his best friend lead with confidence and ease.

"Now, these up here," he continued, making the two windows on the second floor glow yellow, "will only be good if they have brooms. I agree that Harry is the strongest flyer of the group, but we need two more already on brooms, with more at the ready. On the ground-"

He was cut off by Savage, who said, "Wait a minute, Weasley. You want three people guarding two possible exits that are only effective if said Death Eaters have brooms available?"

Harry was worried that Ron would quail at the authority and abrasiveness with which Savage spoke, but instead he glared back defiantly and replied, "Yeah, I do. Look, if we have three fast Aurors circling the top of the building, it will force the Death Eaters to the bottom floor since there is little chance they will try to escape by broom or blast their way out onto the bloody roof. That leaves the three exposed exits, the front and back doors and the cellar door. Once we can confirm the top floor is clear, two of the aerial team can move lower to assist with the ground team. The doors should be well jinxed before we even begin the raid since those are the easiest way to escape. The first person to attempt a door will be blasted back."  
He swept his wand over the doors and two tiny red X's covered them. "That leaves the sewer grate, two rose windows and the cellar," These four exits glowed green now. "If it were me, I might think that there was safety in numbers. My guess is that faced with no other options, they will all try to come out there," he pointed to the cellar, "If it's one or two, I could see them trying the sewer grate, but once they realize we've put an anti-disapparation jinx on the whole area they aren't going to want to fuss with squeezing through a bloody grate when hexes are being blasted at them."

Even Harry was speechless at the amount of strategy and deduction Ron had used so quickly. It looked as though Savage was finally impressed.

"But there's one problem," Ron said, looking at Harry. Harry wasn't sure what the problem was so he waited for Ron to fill them all in. "Anti-intruder jinx," he said, as if it was completely obvious.

"The place obviously isn't unplottable, since there have been repeated sightings of both the building and the Death Eaters using it. There has to be some sort of signal if someone comes onto the property."

Susan groaned. Harry had gotten used to non-stop planning and problem solving while looking for Horcruxes, as well as all the snags and dead ends that came with it, but he could imagine that it could be a little tedious for someone who was ready for action.

"What about the Death Eaters?" asked Neville after a few minutes of talking through possibilities.

"What about them?" Harry asked.

"Well, do you think this alarm goes off every time one of them goes into the house?"

"Doubtful," said Savage, "Those types of charms have to be placed on the entire property, otherwise we could all just Apparate directly into the building and be undetected."

Harry thought about the night that Dumbledore died. Lupin told him that some sort of barrier had prevented the members of the Order of the Phoenix from getting into the Astronomy tower.

"Dark marks," he said aloud, "You have to have a Dark Mark to enter." He felt all eyes on him but he only met Ron's.

Ron grimaced, "You know who has a Dark Mark."

Harry sighed.

* * *

Harry was glad when he received an owl from Ginny around half one. Her note was short but lifted his spirits on what was turning out to be a very trying first day. She told him that she would plan to meet him at Andromeda's at 6 that evening and for him to owl if he thought he'd be late. She'd also slipped in a few flirtations and some reassurances that she was feeling much better after her complete unraveling the day before.

He found it interesting that the part of her note that stuck with him for the next hour was "owl if you think you'll be late". How many times had he heard Mrs. Weasley call that to Mr. Weasley as he left for his day of work at the Ministry? He smiled as he thought of himself and Ginny as an old married coupled, with her fussing over their children and cooking huge breakfasts as he hurried out the door to work. _Owl if you think you'll be late._

"Hey," Harry's head snapped up as Ron's gruff greeting pulled him from his daydream.

"Uh, hey," he replied, lamely, feeling as though his head was swimming with wrackspurts.

"Are you ok?" Ron asked, as he sipped some tea from a paper cup and sat opposite Harry at their shared desk.

"Yeah, fine, just thinking..." he trailed off.

Ron plunked down in his chair mumbling, "Fantasizing about my sister, then?" not quietly enough that Harry couldn't hear him, nor did he think Ron hadn't meant him to.

For some reason, this made something snap inside him and he was instantly irritated. "Actually I was, if you must know."

"What?!" Ron replied, obviously not expecting Harry to come back at him.

"Yeah, I was thinking about Ginny. And do you want to know what I was thinking?" he dared.

Ron looked taken aback and held up his hands in surrender, "I really don't, please, spare me the gory-"

But Harry cut across him, "I was thinking that I can't wait until Ginny and I are married with a house of our own and a bunch of ginger kids that I will get to kiss goodbye every morning before I come into this godforsaken place!" he barked, not quite shouting, but speaking harshly enough that Ron wouldn't be able to block him out.

Ron's face turned just as red as if Harry had actually revealed some vulgar fantasy involving himself and Ron's baby sister.

'Oh," was his only reply and he looked down, shuffling some papers for something to do.

"Yeah," Harry snapped, still staring at Ron hard, itching to row.

Ron still didn't look up but quietly said, "I just thought..."

"I know what you thought Ron," Harry snapped, a little less loudly than before, "but just because Ginny and I have...are...have been..._intimate_," he almost gagged on the word, "with each other, doesn't mean I'm suddenly some sort of randy pervert that only thinks about one thing. I'm not you, Ron," he added, though he knew it was both a low blow and not entirely accurate. He had a very good idea what Ron and Hermione had and had _not_ done, physically. Not because he wanted to, but because Ginny was very good as getting information out of Hermione and then very good at making Harry listen to the information she had gathered, whether or not he was receptive.

Ron did not glare at him for the remark but looked as though he'd been hit with a bludger. "You and Ginny have, then?" he asked.

Now it was Harry's turn to blush. He sighed and then waved his wand at their office door, both closing and locking it.

"Listen, I know that you know and I'm really sorry. Not for what Ginny and I did but…" he hesitated but then the words just spilled out of him, "Look, I didn't know _Muffliato_ wasn't a full area silencer. I never would've wanted you and Hermione to hear-"

"You _shagging_ my baby sister?!" Ron spat at him, his hands clutching the edge of the desk so hard Harry was waiting for the wood to begin crumbling in his hands.

"Honestly Ron!" Harry said in what he realized was a very good imitation of Hermione, "I am NOT," he slammed his hands down on the desktop now, "_shagging_ your baby sister!"

Ron's brow furrowed and he spoke more quietly now. "So, you haven't then? But I thought you said…intimate…" he trailed off.

_Ginny was right_, Harry thought. Ron needed to grow up. He knew they were never going to be having conversations like the ones he'd heard between Seamus and Dean in his sixth year, but he needed to be able to talk to his best mate right now, not Ginny's brother.

"Listen Ron, I want us to be able to talk, but I need you not to hit me," he began. When Ron gave him a jerky nod he continued, "What you heard between Ginny and I…well…" _Oh here we go_. "That was the first time."

Ron looked up at him and Harry was reminded of the Tom Riddle in the Pensieve as a flash of red passed in front of his eyes before he composed himself.

"Just so we're clear, you did…well…you had…" He couldn't seem to finish the sentence so Harry did it for him.

"Sex, yeah."

"Right."

Harry pushed forward before Ron let his protective brotherly emotions get out of control, "But it wasn't just shagging, you must know that Ron. Honestly, if the most sordid fantasy I'm having about my girlfriend is growing old with her and having a house and kids, I think it's fair to say I'm in this for the long haul."

Harry counted the seconds of awkward silence that filled the room, waiting for Ron to speak. All of a sudden, Ron snorted and then chuckled, shaking his head. Harry joined him awkwardly, not quite sure what was going to happen next.

Soon, Ron calmed down and gave Harry a look that reminded him of the friend he'd had before Harry had ever fancied Ginny. He missed this Ron. "I reckon you have a point. But, please, for the love of Merlin, do not let me hear anything like that again."

"Definitely not." Harry agreed.

A few seconds of silence passed before Ron blurted out, "I really wish you weren't shagging my little sister."

"Ron, I thought we just went over this!" Harry snapped, exasperated.

"No, what I mean is I wish you could, you know, tell me stuff. It's a big deal and you're my best mate…but Ginny's…"

"Yeah, I understand," Harry said kindly.

It seemed that he wasn't the only one reminiscing about sixth year when Seamus came back from summer break to declare to the boy's dormitory that he was no longer a virgin. They had all applauded like idiots but then Dean and Seamus got together and started discussing the finer details. Harry wished he had someone that could give him advice, who could have told him what to expect.

"No, I mean, Hermione and I…" Harry thought that Ron looked like he was going to vomit slugs again, "haven't and don't know who to talk to about this stuff." He looked sheepishly at Harry.

"What about your brothers?"

"Harry, it's _Hermione_," he said, as if he just presented him with a very straightforward answer.

"Yeah, good point." Harry said, chuckling.

It was all a little weird. They had all grown up together and were like family. Ron and Ginny were actually related, but Harry had come to care about Hermione the same way that Ron cared for Ginny. It was confusing and made Harry extremely uncomfortable.

Just then their office door opened and Neville walked in.

"Hey are you guys ready to go?" he asked, but looking at the strained faces each was making, paused in the doorway.

Then Harry laughed and said, "Hey, you could talk to Neville about it!"

"About what?" Neville said, looking worried.

Both Harry and Ron answered at the same time, "Sex."

Neville turned on his heel and left the room, blushing all the way down his neck.

* * *

Harry felt strange knocking on the door of his own house, but he thought it was only polite, seeing as he was coming over unannounced.

"Who is it?" a female voice called from the other side of the door.

"It's Harry Potter, I need to speak to Draco."

"Prove your identity, please."

Harry thought for the hundredth time today about his future with Ginny and said, "_Expecto Patronum"_

The stag galloped through the door and he heard Narcissa Malfoy gasp from the other side. He then heard the turn of locks and the door opened a crack.

"What is it?" she asked through the crack of the door, peering at him suspiciously.

"I just told you, I need to speak to Draco." Harry didn't think he really needed a reason to enter his own house, but he felt that reminding Narcissa of that would not help his efforts of keeping them hidden there.

"Mother, who's at the door?"

She didn't speak but instead pulled the door wide so that both men were looking at each other.

"We need to talk. Can I come in?" he asked, trying to stay polite, but also needing to convey the urgency of their conversation.

"It's your house," shrugged Draco, as he turned and walked into the study.

Harry walked passed Narcissa, giving a curt nod in her direction. As he walked towards the study, he noticed the house seemed darker and more unkempt than it had when he hid there with Ron and Hermione last summer. He wondered if the old house was simply prone to fall into disrepair without the help of a house elf. He would not be asking Kreacher to assist with the house or help the Malfoys in any way. He still hadn't forgotten how they treated Dobby or how Narcissa and Bellatrix had used Kreacher to trick him into going to the Ministry for Sirius.

Upon entering the study the first thing he noticed was that a bed sheet had been hung to cover the Black family tree. He stood in the doorway, staring at it with knitted brow when Draco spoke.

"Mother didn't like looking at it. Too many dead relatives," He said it casually but his expression gave away the deep sadness he was feeling. Harry wanted to ask if it was for his mother, himself, or for his lost relatives, but knew that would only distract from the task at hand.

"Draco, I need your help," he stated boldly, deciding to alter his request based on Draco's initial reaction, which was, unfortunately, disinterest.

Draco seemed to be studying the intricately carved mantle of the fireplace as he said, "We've given you all the help we can, Potter. I don't have any more information. I don't know anything." With that, his face became a hard mask that signaled the end of the conversation. Harry was not giving up.

"I don't need your families help, I need _your_ help and I don't need information, I need _you._"

Both men flushed at Harry's awkward phrasing. He tried to cover it up quickly by adding, "Your arm. We need someone with a Dark Mark."

He saw Draco shift in the chair as he unconsciously placed his left arm in his lap. He did not look curious, or angry. He looked fearful, but made no signal that he was going to engage this conversation. Harry went on.

"We need to set up some protections on an…area," he invented, vaguely. He didn't want to give too much information in case Draco remained unreceptive and decided to warn his uncle of the planned raid. "The area in question, well, only Death Eaters can enter undetected."

"I'm not a Death Eater," Draco spat, his face flushing in anger.

Harry held up his hands in defense. "I know, I just meant-"

"I know what you meant," Draco interrupted, more softly adding, "What sort of protections?"

Harry was startled. He thought it was going to take more convincing, or maybe even bargaining, to get Draco's assistance with this task. He supposed comparing Draco to the Death Eaters was enough to trigger his interest.

"Anti-disapparation jinx, some blockades…two explosives," Harry added quietly, suddenly realizing how dangerous this 'small favour' sounded.

Draco must've agreed because he snorted and said, "Some protections."

"Yeah," Harry answered lamely.

Draco stood up and walked over to a shelf of books. He glanced at the titles and asked, "When?"

"Tomorrow."

"But I thought I wasn't supposed to leave the house?" he sneered in true Draco fashion as he fingered a copy of _Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy_.

"Well, this is a special circumstance. You'd be under my invisibility cloak and you'd have back up. As soon as the protections are up, you can Disapparate back here. No one will know."

Draco sighed and walked back over to the chair, flopping down heavily.

"I suppose I don't really have a choice," he mumbled.

Harry thought about what Sirius had said to him, in this very room about choice.

"You do have a choice, Draco. Just remember that your choices so far have made you into the person you are today. The only way to change that is to make new choices."

Harry let this hang in the air for a few long seconds. Draco was worrying a small hole in his robes and didn't look as if he was going to respond. As Harry turned to leave the door suddenly closed in his face. He turned back to look at Draco, who had his wand pointed at the door.

"Tell me what I have to do."

* * *

_A/N 2: At least it was a long one right? Tomorrow will be from Ron's POV as they attempt to recapture Death Eaters with the help of Draco Malfoy. For anyone who feels that this is something Draco would hands-down-never-do, I am just running with JK's description of Malfoy being very similar to Regulus Black and Dudley Dursley. We all know how those two changed their colors. Draco is a little more complex than Dudley (who we will be catching up with soon!) so he has become my favorite character to write for. _

_Please keep reviewing! I can't tell you how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE getting them and discussing my favorite series with fellow fans!_


	10. Circumstance- Ron

_Author's Note: Harry Easter! Remember when I said there wouldn't be another chapter until next week? Well, the Easter Bunny gave me the motivation to finish this and after some deliberation I've decided to share this very jam-packed chapter with you! Sending a big thank you to everyone who has been following and reviewing the story thus far. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well._

_Ratings note: This chapter skates on the line between T and M. Contains both sexual content and violence (though not at the same time). _

_**I do not own Harry Potter!**_

* * *

**May 12- Circumstance**

**Ron**

Ron had been awake since four in the morning. He had taken a shower, thinking it would calm him down, but it only made him feel more awake. To burn his excess energy he decided to do some of the laps that Auror Robards suggested they started doing to increase their stamina. He didn't know if it was smart to do them three hours before a raid, but he was too anxious to stay still. After running four laps around the Burrow's grounds he was out of breath and sweating. He went back inside and decided to take one more shower before getting dressed and heading over to the Ministry to look over the plan again.

As he pushed the bathroom door open he was met with a shriek and a lot of pale flesh.

"Ron!" Hermione cried as she pulled her towel back around herself.

He was so startled he shouted back at her, "What are you doing in here?"

"Keep your voice down, Ronald!" she said harshly, pulling him into the bathroom and closing the door behind him. They both seemed to realize at the same time that they were standing in the bathroom together, Hermione dressed in nothing but a towel, Ron shirtless and sweaty. The awkwardness washed over them.

Finally Hermione spoke, "I woke up and you weren't here. I got nervous when I couldn't find you about the house so I thought I would take a quick shower and then go to the Ministry to see if you were there."

Ron was both ashamed for making Hermione frantic and touched that she'd go all the way to the Ministry to try and find him, even if he thought it was a little overkill.

"Are you alright, Hermione?" He made to reach for her bare arm but she stiffened so he dropped his hand.

"Of course I'm alright, you just worried me. You didn't think I'd let you go off to fight Death Eaters without saying goodbye did you?"

Ron could feel the never-ending flush return to his face. He hadn't thought about it that way. All of yesterday it had seemed like he was just working through a puzzle, moving pieces around to solve a problem. But now hearing Hermione say it, he realized the gravity of the situation. He grabbed her hand and pulled her into a tight hug.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't think. I didn't mean to worry you. I couldn't sleep so I went running. I just got back."

She pulled out of the hug and looked at him, "You went running?"

He shrugged, "Robards suggested it. Said it's good for my stamina."

Hermione gave him a curious look but smiled and said, "Well, I guess that's important."

"Yeah," he finished lamely, distracted by the towel that was slowly slipping in parts on Hermione's body.

"Did you want to take a shower?" she asked, pulling his attention away from the place where her breast curved up towards her shoulder.

"Um, what? Weren't you just about to?" He was having a hard time thinking about anything now but that towel and how easy it would be to get it off of her. Hermione blushed as if reading his mind.

"Yes, I suppose I could wait…" she trailed off but Ron thought she was going to say something else. He prided himself on learning all of her little idiosyncrasies.

"Unless?" Ron asked and saw her look at him in shock.

"How do you do that?" she demanded, clutching the top of her towel tighter while making the bottom part open slightly to expose her thigh.

He shrugged, staring at the new skin. Her exasperated sigh brought his eye up just as she leaned into the shower to turn it on. He was now imagining what he might have missed when she said quietly,

"_Unless_ you'd like to share…"

He must've misheard her. _Share? Like share the shower? At the same time?_

"D'you mean?" He was shaking now. The fantasies that were flashing through his mind moments before had gotten mixed up with reality and now Hermione was walking towards him and he was sweating and flushing down his chest. He felt many parts of his body stiffen when her cold fingertips pressed into his bare chest.

"What do you think? It's just a shower, after all."

_Bloody. Hell. _

"Erm, Hermione, you do understand that we'd both be, um…"

"Naked."

"Right."

"And soapy,"

"….yeah…"

"And wet."

"Blimey."

"Do you love me, Ron?"

And a bludger hit him right in the temple. He was falling off his broom towards the hard ground. No, he was slowing, slowing, and now resting in a bed of soft grass. He looked up at her.

"I do."

"Do what?" _This is maddening. Doesn't she realize there is almost no blood in my effing brain right now?!_

"Love you. I love you, Hermione. Of course I do. Why are you even asking?"

"I just wanted to hear you say it. You are going off today to fight Death Eaters. It hasn't even been a fortnight since the Battle and you are leaving and…I might never see you again. I just wanted to hear you say it before you go."

He had never felt worse. Is it possible to feel worse than watching your girlfriend cry while you have an erection? That is the kind of question he'd like to ask Harry, if his girlfriend hadn't been Ron's sister.

"Hermione, I'm not going to leave you. I'll be home tonight. We're going to be with fully trained Aurors and it's a very straightforward operation."

"Just like when we took Harry from his Aunt and Uncle's. When Mad-Eye died and George lost an ear," she sniffed.

Ron felt like he really must have the emotional range of a teaspoon not to connect all of these things. He embraced her again and brushed his fingers through her hair.

"I wish I knew what to say to reassure you. I really feel that I'll be coming home to you tonight, but I can't prove it. I'm so sorry."

She looked up and kissed him lightly.

"You don't need to prove it. Just do it, alright? Just come home."

He nodded as she kissed him again, bringing both hands up to his face. He felt the heavy fabric of the towel as it draped itself over his arms and he pulled them away briefly to let it fall to the ground. He brought his hands back to caress the soft skin of her back and he felt gooseflesh as he ran his fingers down her narrow waist.

She pulled away and gave him a fierce look that was almost frightening. "Do you want to take a shower or do you want to go back to bed?" she asked him, throatily.

"Erm, by bed you mean?"

"Dammit, Ronald, you know what I mean," she said kissing him deeply.

"Bed, then," he said into her mouth. She grabbed her wand off the sink and waved it at the running shower, then Apparated them directly into his bedroom, still embracing. Upon arriving, Hermione pulled away. She was completely naked and Ron thought he was going to pass out from the sight of her. The sun was coming up now and light teased at the curves of her body.

"I love you so much, Hermione."

She put her thumbs around the waistband of his shorts and pulled down forcefully, taking his pants along. Ron was relieved when, without glancing down, she began kissing him again. He took a moment to kick off his trainers while letting his hands run all over her naked body. At this point, he had only seen and felt different parts of her. This was a whole different story. Back moved seamlessly into buttocks, which then quickly became waist and then breasts. He was now fully hard again but also so fully enamored with this person that was kissing him. He could kiss her until his last breath.

He stopped suddenly, pulling away from her warm mouth.

"Hermione?" he gasped, trying to think clearly.

"What? What is it?"

"You aren't just…because you think…like the kiss?"

_Did she really think he might die today? Was it because she didn't think he could do it?_ He felt like crying now. He didn't want his first time to be a sympathy shag. She grabbed his wrists to make him look at her.

"Ron, no. I love you. I want to do this. I have, for a while. But I've been scared and well, you going off today has a little something to do with it," he started to pull away, "No, not how you think. I just felt like, if you can be brave enough to go do this and to tell me you love me, well, I can be vulnerable too. I don't need to plan _everything._"

He was disoriented. He couldn't pick up on her little cues right now. Part of him was screaming to just throw her on the bed while the other part wanted to run and hide.

"Are you lying? I can't tell right now, Hermione, please. Be honest with me, do you think I'll come home?"

She let go of his wrists and put her hands on his face again, looking right into his eyes, "I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't."

He exhaled and let his mouth crash against hers. He could feel tears leaking from his eyes but he didn't care. They fell back into the bed and he tried to show her how much he loved her with every touch and kiss.

Afterwards, they held each other and watched the sun rise, signaling his time to leave the Burrow. As if on cue, there was a light tapping on the door.

"Ron, mate, you ready?"

He looked at Hermione's wide eyes, filling with tears. He kissed her hard and said, "I love you. I'll see you tonight."

She just nodded, "I know."

"Ron?"

"Yeah, I'll be down in a sec," he called to Harry, realizing his voice sounded hoarse.

He gave Hermione one last glace before leaving his attic bedroom.

* * *

Ron couldn't believe they were entrusting the entire mission to Draco-Sodding-Malfoy. If the little bleeder screwed up, it could mean losing hold on four of the most notorious Death Eaters still at large. If he pulled it off, well, he was still a git.

Ron watched the house from a spot that one of the Aurors, a woman named Evangeline Tully, had deemed to be the edge of the Death Eaters boundary. He couldn't see where Draco was exactly, as he was under the cloak, but every once in a while he'd see areas of the tall grass get pressed down suddenly, as if by a foot. Minutes dragged as Ron and the others waited for Draco to return. As soon as he did they would cast the Anti-Disappartion jinx and then Harry, Tully and Ron would take to the air. Ron felt nervous, seeing as they had only managed to scrounge up two additional Aurors to assist with the operation. He hadn't fully realized how short-staffed and over-worked the Ministry had been until now.

After what seemed like hours, Draco returned and pulled the cloak off. He was ashen-faced and sweating.

"How'd it go?" Harry asked him, his voice full of anxiety.

"It's done. I heard at least one voice inside. Can I leave now?" Draco handed the cloak back to Harry.

_Bloody coward._

"Yeah, just walk well out of earshot before Disapparating," said Savage, giving Draco a shrewd look that made Ron feel that Savage didn't fully trust Malfoy either.

Draco nodded but didn't speak again as he turned and hurried away from the house.

"_Homenum Revelio,_" said Savage, directing his wand at the house. "There are only three. Go ahead, Bones."

Susan conjured three pink birthday balloons and directed them to float over the house.

Ron gave Harry a meaningful look. _This was it. _

When they heard the dog bark that signaled the Anti-Disapparation Jinx had been set, Savage simply said, "Now," then Ron, Harry and Tully shot off from the ground towards the house. They were flying in a formation often used by quidditch teams to disorient a chaser. Tully was at the top, flying counterclockwise, Harry was beneath her, flying clockwise and Ron was below him, following the same path as Tully. Ron could hear shouts from at least two distinct voices inside the house, but no curses had flown yet.

Suddenly, Ron passed close to the house and heard someone yell "_Bombardo!" _there was a loud bang but no explosion. Draco's shield on the house was effective.

He hazarded a glance at the ground. He could see Neville and Susan crouched by the cellar door. His attention was brought back around when he saw Savage running towards the front door. He had to stay in formation, so he heard the blast from the back of the house. When he flew past again he saw the limp forms of both Savage and Thorfinn Rowle splayed amongst the debris from the explosion.

He shouted up to Harry, "I'm going down!"

"Right!" Harry shouted back, throwing the cloak to Ron.

Ron flew down towards the bodies, knowing he had to move very quickly. He flicked his wand at the now open down and said "_Reparo,_"as well as the shield and blockade charms Savage had taught them the day prior. The door and surrounding wall flew back into place. He then flew down over Savage's body. He threw the cloak over the unconscious man, hoping he wasn't seriously injured. He then pointed his wand at Rowle, who was definitely still alive since he was twitching slightly. Ron felt the urge to end him, the way he had ended Greyback. If he was dead, he could never hurt anyone again. Ron knew he couldn't do a killing curse but he shouted "_Petrificus Totalus!_" and watched Rowle go rigid. He then bounded the prisoner and performed a hasty concealment charm to prevent anyone from lifting his jinxes. Rowle was now the same color as the ground and covered in long green hairs that somewhat resembled the grass, though his outline was still visible.

"_Expluso!"_ he heard from above him. He left Savage and Rowle and flew back up to assist Harry, but as soon as Harry saw him he said, "It's only one, we got it," The second it took for him to say it Harry was suddenly off his broom. Ron instinctively lowered himself to catch his falling friend.

"What the hell was that?" Ron shouted, feeling Harry grip his back.

"Dunno. Here, put me down by the cellar. That's where they'll go. It's Carrow and Lestrange, Ron. The others are gonna need back up."

Ron agreed. He knew Bellatrix's husband was the smartest of the three, and the most bloodthirsty. He thought about Hermione's fears.

"Be careful, Harry," he called as he flew back up towards Tully, but she flew down to meet him.

"He's gone. I put up some blasting charms on the windows so I think we should circle the lower exits now,"

He nodded, and they began circling in opposite directions. As he flew by one of the rose windows it shattered, shooting broken glass at him. He dodged most of it, but felt a few pieces slice at his arms as he struggled to hold his broom.

"_Stupefy!"_ he heard Tully shout through the open window. He flew around to the other side as she continued to shoot a number of nonverbal spells through the window.

He landed amongst Neville, Susan and Harry. "Listen, I have an idea. Get ready, they're gonna come out soon," They all nodded and he took off again. He saw Williamson by the sewer grate. He seemed to be filling it with some type of liquid. He flew down, "Sir, I have an idea. It's risky but I think it will get them to go out through the cellar."

Williams looked up impatiently, "Well, why don't you go ahead and do it instead of chatting with me?"

"Well, I just need to make sure that you aren't filling the sewer with anything…explosive."

Williams seemed to figure out his plan and smiled, "Incendio?"

Ron nodded.

"Do it."

He flew over to the rose window where Tully was still shooting jinxes at one of the Death Eaters, since he saw jets of light flying back out through the window.

"Tully! Savage is down. He's under the cloak a few feet from Rowle. You should be able to see him by the front door, he's green."

"Green? Why is he green?"

"I'm rubbish at concealment," Ron said dismissively, "Listen, get them back behind the Disapparation Line. Try to revive Savage."

She furrowed her brows at his commands, "What are you going to do?"

"Smoke them out," he said, pulling her down quickly as a jinx almost brushed her head.

She nodded and flew off towards the front door. He paused a moment, throwing a few lazy stunners at his opponent to keep him near the window. When he saw Tully levitating Savage and Rowle away from the house he thought _Incendio_ and did the movement for the non-verbal spell. To his astonishment, it worked. He heard the man inside yell as flames bloomed through the house. He flew around to the cellar door but kept moving as he heard the back door explode. There was no one there so he figured the fire must've triggered it.

In the distance he could hear the wail of a fire truck and for not the first time that morning wished Hermione was there. For a muggle-born she was extremely good at casting the Muggle Repelling charm. He flew back towards the cellar now, the rest of the house engulfed in flames. At this point, Carrow and Lestrange would either be burned alive or would have to try and escape through the cellar or the grate.

In the far distance, he thought he could see smoke from another fire burning. He hoped that was where the firemen would be headed.

He was brought back to the scene by Neville who suddenly shouted, "No! Lestrange!" and ran towards the back door. He could see a smoking figure running form the house. Ron felt so stupid. He hadn't put up any defensive charms after the door had been blasted. He'd assumed it was the fire that had done it.

"Crucio!" _No, not Neville! _He moved to help but Harry got there first. He was distracted now, wanting to go help his friends, but feeling he needed to stay with Susan.

Then a number of things happened at once. There was a large explosion in the house and the cellar doors burst open, presenting them with Amycus Carrow. As this happened, in the distance he heard two voices. One was shouting "_Stupefy!_" and he swore the other cried "_Avada Kedavra!_"

He was frozen. Amycus barreled towards them but he couldn't move. The killing curse had been cast. _On whom? Had it connected? Was he going to lose another friend?_

He felt Susan put up a silent shield as Amycus tried to hit them with his favorite Unforgivable Curse, causing it to rebound and knock him onto his knees. Ron snapped out of his stupor and moved forward, Susan close behind him. He was about to cast a Full-Body-Bind when he heard Susan cry, "Cruc-" He pushed her in the chest and she fell back. _What was she thinking?_

He kicked the wand from Amycus' hand, picked it up and cast the binding spell. Now that Carrow was immobilized Ron stood over him, thinking about what Susan was about to do. He deserved it; Ron gave her that.

"What the hell, Weasley?" Susan said, getting to her feet. She looked over at Amycus Carrow. "You are a monster. I hope you rot away in Azkaban. You deserve so much worse." Ron had never seen Susan so angry before. He was about to tie him up for transport when Susan suddenly shouted "_Accio fingernails!_" her wand pointing at Carrow's hands. With complete horror, Ron watched as the fingernails on Carrow's hands were pulled from his body, falling at Susan's feet.

"Doesn't feel so great, does it?" she said and literally spat on him before running towards the back of the house.

Ron quickly tied him up and threw a stunning spell for good measure, then he ran after Susan.

"Bones!" he shouted, "What was that?!" He wanted to throw up. He couldn't believe _Accio_ could be used for something so cruel.

Susan turned on the spot and faced Ron, holding up her hand. Ron looked at it and noticed that three of her fingernails looked to be growing in at the base of her fingers. "Taste of his own medicine. Don't tell me he didn't deserve it, Ron."

"I'm not, but Susan, we're supposed to-"

"What? Tell me what we're supposed to do! What I was supposed to do at Hogwarts when my fingernails were being torn out and first years were being tortured and my aunt and boyfriend were murdered. I dare you to tell me!"

He couldn't tell her. He was sickened by all of it. He wanted to shake her or hug her, but either way he couldn't move. It wasn't until he saw Harry running towards him over her shoulder that he was snapped back to reality.

"Harry," he croaked. Susan turned and they both ran towards him.

"Where's Neville, Harry? What happened?" shouted Susan as they ran.

"Lestrange is dead, Neville is stunned. Are you two ok?" Harry asked, panting and looking just as shaken as Ron felt. They both nodded, although 'ok' was not something Ron would use to describe himself right now.

They followed Harry around to where Neville was. Susan ran over to his side and looked to be trying to revive him. Ron was confused, thinking about when he heard the curses. "But wait, what happened, Harry? I heard the curses but-" He was cut off when he saw Harry staring at him, knowingly.

"Later," was all he said as Susan ran back over.

"I can't wake him up, do you think we should take him to St. Mungo's?"

Harry shook his head.

"No, let's get this lot to the Ministry and then if he isn't awake by then we can take him to the Ministry's first aid ward. Where's Williamson?" It wasn't until Harry asked the question that he remembered Williamson. He had been over by the sewer grate. They ran over and found him about 15 feet back from his original position. The front of his body had been hit with the blast Ron had heard when Carrow came through the cellar door. He guessed it had exploded through the grate, as the hole was now about three feet wide and the metal grate was nowhere to be seen.

"Susan, on second thought," Harry said, "take Williamson and Neville to St. Mungo's. We'll drop the Death Eaters at the Ministry and then meet you over there as soon as we can."

She nodded and they all ran back to get Neville and Lestrange. Susan levitated Neville's body back towards Williamson's. Harry conjured a rope, tied it around Lestrange's dead body and levitated him, pulling his lifeless form along.

"You are going to tell me what happened, right?" Ron asked him, looking at the Death Eater. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't relieved that Rodolphus had gone the same way as Bellatrix, but he had a feeling he wasn't going to like the story Harry was keeping from him. Harry gave him a solemn nod as Ron collected the unconscious Carrow from next to the cellar door.

They Apparated both bodies to the holding area for convicts at the Ministry, not knowing where to take the corpse of the Death Eater. Upon seeing the bodies, the Intake wizard's eyes got wide.

"Well, well," he said, as if Harry and Ron had just presented him with a smorgasbord and not one stunned and one dead Death Eater, "Yes, yes. Let's go ahead and move Carrow in with Rowle," he flicked his wand and a cell door opened. The man then levitated Carrow's body in, closing the door behind it.

"As for him," he went on, "I'll put him in a cell until the Minister can identify the body himself. Then he'll be incinerated," Ron felt sicker than ever as he listened to the man speak with such nonchalance. Suddenly he found himself on the floor.

"Ron!" Harry cried, gabbing his arms, "Merlin, Ron, you are covered in blood! What happened?"

Ron looked down at his black Auror uniform. It was hard to tell that it was soaked through with blood but when he looked at Harry's hands he saw the red that was smeared over them.

"Oh, yeah, there was some glass," he said woozily.

"Better get him to St. Mungo's. There's a floo right around the corner there," he heard the Intake Wizard say before everything went black.

When he woke up, the first thing he saw was Harry.

"Hermione?" he asked, fearful that he'd be drenched in her tears at any moment.

Harry shook his head, "She doesn't know. They said it wasn't life threatening. You didn't even lose too much blood. The Healer said it was just a combination of that, overexertion and dehydration. I'll go tell them you are awake so we can go back to the Ministry."

"The Ministry?"

"Yeah, I've already spoken with Kingsley and Robards. They need you to fill out some paperwork. You've been out for about an hour," he added upon seeing Ron's confused face.

"What about Neville and Savage? Williamson?" he asked, bringing his arms up to look at the bandages that covered them.

"Neville's fine. He's already been discharged, but he's down with his parents. Savage broke some ribs and is pretty out of it, but his Healer said he'd be ok. I haven't heard anything about Williamson yet. They are still working on him."

Ron groaned.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked.

"These bandages are what's wrong! I told Hermione everything would be fine! I promised her I'd be home safe."

Harry smiled at him sympathetically, "Ginny and I had the same conversation. She was completely mental this morning when I left. But we are going home, Ron. You are fine. The Healer said that she was actually surprised you were so overexerted. You weren't that injured."

Ron blushed and saw Harry look at him curiously. He thought fast, "I couldn't sleep. I decided to try running like Robards said."

Harry looked at him incredulously, "Seriously Ron? You didn't sleep and then _ran _and then fought Death Eaters, all while bleeding profusely? You are completely mental!" Ron thought Harry was actually mad until he winked.

Ron snorted, "Fair enough. I suppose I'll just wear some long sleeves until these heal and hope Hermione doesn't notice."

"Oh I think she'll probably notice…" Harry started, waggling his eyebrows and smiling widely now.

"What d'you? Ohhhh," he groaned again as the truth behind Harry's smile was evident. "Does Ginny know?"

He shook his head, "Nah, she was still asleep. Did you actually go for a run? Because that was a pretty good lie."

"I did. I was actually about to take a shower and the whole thing…well, it just happened."

"So, on top of everything else I just listed, I can also add shagging to the list of things you've already done today!" Harry said, cheerfully, as Ron blushed.

"Blimey, Ron, it's not even 11!"

"Shuddup, prat," he mumbled, feeling sore that his had to share his special moment with anyone.

Harry must've sensed the change in tone because he suddenly looked solemn.

"Sorry, mate, just taking the piss. I know how you feel, don't I?"

Ron smiled slightly, "Yeah, I reckon you do."

"You want to talk about it?"

Ron considered it for a moment, but then shook his head.

"Good, because I didn't really want to hear it…again!"

Ron reached back and grabbed his pillow, chucking it at his highly amused best friend.

* * *

_A/N 2: I hadn't initially planned for the fist scene to unravel the way it did, but, like Ron said "It just happened." Please let me know what you think through reviews or PMs! Your feedback does help me keep writing and sometimes influences where the story goes. No matter what my outline looks like, a small suggestion can send me down a rabbit hole. _

_Also, for anyone who felt this chapter was too racy, know that this is probably as suggestive as it will get in this story. I'm writing some Mature companion pieces that go into more detail about the intimacy scenes I'll be glossing over in this story. But I'm standing by the amount of sex that will be happening this summer. All the characters are teenagers who barely survived a war. Please keep this in mind as you (hopefully) continue reading!_

_The next two chapters will be Hermione and Neville, though I'm not sure of the order yet. _

_Thanks again for supporting my story! It's so fun to write!_


	11. Confidence- Hermione

_Author's note: Thanks for the reviews and PMs of the last chapter. Some of you told me that I did not need to change the rating to M but a few thought it was a little too risque for T. I'm leaving it at M for now, so I don't need to worry about content, but I might change it back if things stay more tame._

_This chapter was inspired by chatting with MandyinKC. I want to give her credit for making me think about what was going on in the wizarding world outside of Dumbledore's Army. _

_**I do not own Harry Potter**_

* * *

**May 13- Confidence**

**Hermione**

"Ron?"

"Mmm?" he responded into the back of her neck, making the hairs there stand on end from his breath.

Waking up next to Ron was the best thing she could've ever thought possible. Of course, one could argue that there were other things that were better, or _would be _better, with practice and a little research, but feeling the weight of him next to her on the bed when she woke up in the night, which was still pretty often, was so comforting, so relieving, that she couldn't believe she was about to willingly separate herself from him.

"How are you feeling?"

She heard a yawn and his hand smoothed down her shirt over her small waist.

"Great. Pretty bloody refreshed, actually. How are you, this fine morning?" he asked, pressing his lips into her neck just under her ear.

She inhaled sharply but then smirked. Ron was definitely more affectionate and confident in the morning. Maybe he wasn't fully awake yet and thought he was still dreaming. Last night, he'd been asleep before she was even back from the bathroom.

"I'm fine."

_Shit._ She knew that Ron could be thick but she also knew he had become much more perceptive to her. Saying "I'm fine," was going to raise a red flag.

"What's wrong?" he said, on cue, lifting himself onto his elbow to look at her.

_Do not cry, do not back down. _

She steeled herself and looked back at him. Hermione was almost a little jealous of how great Ron could look in the morning, even with bandages still covering parts of his arms, when she was all bushy hair and bad breath. She felt like maybe she should go brush her teeth real quick before they discussed this, but then suddenly he leaned down and kissed her.

"Ron! No! My breath!" She recoiled and covered her mouth, looking scandalized.

He chuckled, pulling her into a hug and kissing her head.

"What's wrong with your breath?" he asked.

"I haven't brushed my teeth yet," she replied, running tongue frantically across teeth in hopes that it might freshen her mouth somehow.

"Neither have I," he said, continuing to kiss down her face and then across her jaw.

"Well, there are germs, Ron. Bacteria grows while we sleep and gives us bad breath in the morning," she felt her face go red and he kissed down to her collarbone.

"Sexy, Hermione, you really know how to set a mood." He was now rubbing his hand back up the shirt he had previously smoothed down while nuzzling his face into her neck. She couldn't believe how randy he was being considering how frazzled she felt.

"Ron, please," she pleaded, trying to get her head on straight.

He was tracing a finger around her ribcage now but stopped kissing her. "Is that why you are upset Hermione, mouth bacteria?"

"No that's not why I'm upset!" she snapped, pulling her shirt down and facing him.

"So you are upset then?" he asked, eyebrows raised, but the smile playing on his lips that he got when he outsmarted her.

"Ron," she said softly, "Ron, I have to leave."

He looked confused and horrified. Her face and tone had indicated that by 'leave' she didn't just mean 'Go to the loo'.

"What? No! Where? What are you talking about?"

He sat up in bed and looked down at her, she flinched at his raised tone.

"Ron, don't yell at me." _ I will not cry, I will not back down._

"I'm sorry, but I haven't even had breakfast yet and you are talking about leaving!" He reached over and put a hand on her calf, giving it a comforting squeeze. Then he seemed to steady himself and asked, "Where do you have to go?"

"Australia," When she saw his relieved smile, she quickly added, "School."

His smile faltered. "You mean in September? You're going back?"

She nodded, looking away, fearful of his response.

"Bollocks," he said, flopping back into bed next to her.

"I'm sorry, Ron, but I have to go back. I-" but she was interrupted by the scratchy kiss that he pressed into her slightly open mouth.

"I know, Hermione. We figured you'd go back, a lot of seventh years are. Doesn't mean I'm excited about it."

"We?" was all she could say.

"Yeah, me and Harry. We figured you'd never be able to live with yourself if you didn't get all those bloody NEWTs." He rolled his eyes as if the idea of getting good marks was a sign of mental illness. She smiled at him.

"So you aren't angry?"

Now he really looked at her like she was crazy.

"Wha? Of course I'm not angry! Hermione, don't be stupid!"

"I was just…nervous. About leaving you. I thought maybe…"

"What? That we'd break up? Or that I'd hold you prisoner and never let you go?" he was being flirtatious again but this time she was receptive.

"That does sound preferable," she responded, trying to flirt back.

He looked pleasantly surprised as he put his hand back on her exposed stomach, "Really? To going back to Hogwarts?"

She giggled, "No, to breaking up."

"Ah, well, don't tempt me, Hermione. I might hold you prisoner anyway." He moved his hands to lightly hold her wrists and kissed her deeply.

"If you must," Hermione responded into his mouth, letting herself get swept up into blissful oblivion before having to deal with the other challenges planned for the day.

* * *

"Miss Granger? What an unexpected surprise. What can I do for you?" Kingsley waved her into his office but she could feel that his niceties were forced. His huge 6 foot frame could barely been seen over the stacks of files that were most definitely being held up by magic.

"I'm sorry to bother you Kingsley, I mean, Minister Shacklebolt. I can come back if you are busy," Hermione said quietly, feeling extremely small and nervous compared to the authoritative Minister of Magic.

"Not at all, Hermione," he said, waving his wand and making the files disappear, "I'm afraid if I had you come back when I wasn't busy we would not see each other for a very long time." He gave her a warm, reassuring smile and she sat in the chair in front of his desk.

She took a deep breath and sat up straight in the chair. She tried to look into Kingsley's eyes, but instead focused on the gold hoop earring in his left ear as she spoke, "Sir, I would like permission to retrieve my parents from Australia."

Kingsley said nothing. Seconds passed before she forced herself to look into his face. It was not reassuring. She continued, "Minister, I understand that things are still dangerous but-"

Kingsley cut across her.

"Do you Miss Granger? Do you really understand what's going on in the Wizarding world right now, as we speak?"

Hermione opened her mouth, but then closed it again.

Kingsley conjured back the mountains of paperwork that were stacked on his desk when she entered his office.

"Do you know what these are Hermione?" His voice was still slow and even but she could hear an unfamiliar harshness.

"Files, sir."

"Yes, files. These files here," he pointed to the stacks of parchment encased in red folders, "are for every person who worked at the Ministry before or during its infiltration by Lord Voldemort. All of these wizards and witches must be tracked down, investigated and some even incarcerated. People I've worked with for over a decade, and some I've known for longer. These," he indicated the middle stack, which were light blue and also packed with parchment, "are missing or displaced wizards and witches. These people must be located, housed, provided with wands and medical attention, reunited with their family members or pronounced dead."

Hermione flinched at the hardness with which he said the last word.

"Finally these," he indicated the stack of black folders, "are dark wizards still at large. These people are a still a threat, Hermione. I would think that after Ronald ended up in St. Mungo's yesterday you would understand the gravity of what we are dealing with. Hermione, you must know-" This time it was Hermione who interrupted.

"I'm sorry sir, but I do know. I knew how dangerous it was when Harry, Ron and I went off to look for Horcruxes, and I knew when we broke into Gringotts and the Ministry, and I knew it when I was being tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange. I know it's dangerous now, with Ron and Harry still risking their lives to keep us all safe, and Death Eater's at large, but I also know I can handle it. I'm not saying it will be easy because I've faced worse or anything. It's a risk, but I need to take it. You say you are working to reunite those people with their families," she stood and pointed to the files, "well what about me? I need to be reunited with my family. I'm obviously capable of protecting them, sir, and myself."

She sat back down now, feeling a little light headed. After a few moments of silence, Kingsley spoke.

"You are a brave witch, Hermione, and extremely bright," he said, sounding more reassuring than before, "To even perform a spell of such complexity on your parents tells me that you are both willing and able to do what it takes to protect them. But most importantly, I know how stubborn and defiant you are," she made to argue but he held up a hand, "I do not mean this as an insult. Your determination is one of the reasons that Voldemort is gone. And I know that no matter if you leave my office today with permission or not, you will go to retrieve your parents. Am I correct?"

She looked at him tremulously for a moment before saying quietly, "Yes, sir."

To her surprise Kingsley let out his signature booming laugh, "Exactly. Oh, I do hope you end up at the Ministry after you've completed your schooling, Hermione. We need more people like you."

She smiled at this and said, "I've been thinking about it, sir."

He clapped his hands together, still smiling, "Oh good, good." He went over to the fire and threw some Floo Powder into the hearth.

"Mr. Weasley!" he boomed into the green flames. Hermione was surprised when it was Percy and not Arthur's head that popped into view.

"Yes, Minister?"

"Do you have a minute to join Miss Granger and myself?"

Percy's head nodded and then Hermione watched as he pulled himself up through the fireplace.

"Hello, Hermione, how are you doing today?" he asked professionally, as if they didn't eat dinner together four times a week.

"I'm well, Percy, thanks. Um, how are you?" she replied, politely.

"Oh, very busy at the moment. I've been flooing with the Minister of Bulgaria all morning. We're in talks about transferring certain convicts to Nurmengard. We just don't have enough room at the moment, seeing as we're currently holding all the suspects awaiting trial…"

He trailed off as Kingsley gave a meaningful cough.

"Percy is currently our liason for International Magical Relations. He will be assisting you in the transport of your parents form Australia,"

Percy looked surprised at the news that Hermione was already preparing to go to Australia, considering just a few days ago she mentioned that it would be a while before they were collected.

"Percy, can you please owl the Minister of Australia and let them know we will be sending Hermione to collect two British muggles on Friday? We will need travel papers for both Miss Granger and her parents to get them out of the country, seeing as they entered it with the passports Hermione so meticulously forged." Hermione blushed as she realized for the first time just how illegal what she had done really was.

Percy looked like he wanted to both admonish Hermione for this and object to the trip altogether.

Hermione beat him to it.

"Minister, if I may? Are you completely sure that it's safe for people to know I am traveling? Wouldn't it be better if I was more…discreet?" Kingsley looked thoughtful for a moment but it was Percy who replied.

"Hermione, I must insist on going through the correct channels to collect your parents. I have spoken with the Australian Head of International Relations and I can assure you that everyone there is completely trustworthy," he said pompously.

Hermione simply raised her eyebrows at him in disbelief. This was the Percy Weasley, who fully stood behind Cornelius Fudge, Dolores Umbridge and Barty Crouch.

"You know what, you're right, Percy. But I think I might actually wait a bit to get them after all. I mean, I still need to fix up the house and restore their old dental office," she said nonchalantly.

Percy furrowed his brow at her sudden change in decision but a look from Kingsley showed that he understood what she was doing.

"I agree, Miss Granger. It is a little premature to discuss this trip. Percy, let's hold off for know. I'll let you know when we are ready."

At the Minister's words Percy simply gave a nod and a small bow then left the room. When the door closed Hermione said quietly, "I understand what you are trying to do for me Minister, but as you said, things are still dangerous. I don't know if I'm ready to trust that many people."

Kingsley nodded slowly.

"I quite understand. I quite understand. We don't want to broadcast your travel, but we also can't have you traveling alone. Ronald should probably go, seeing as he'll be no use to us while you are gone." Hermione smirked at this. She tried to imagine what he said about her while he was at the Ministry. "I'm sorry but I really can't spare Harry or Neville to escort you, if you are taking Ron. I don't really have many people to spare at the moment…" he trailed off, looking lost in thought, though his eyes kept drifting to the piles of folders that needed sorting.

"What if I found a member of the DA that could come along? Someone who isn't helping the Auror office?"

Kingsley snapped back to her attention, "Dumbledore's Army? Yes, that'd be fine. One or two more wizards should be sufficient. Just make sure they are of age. I can't allow underage magic along with unsanctioned international covert operations involving muggles," he chuckled, "Merlin! I'm turning out to be the worst Minister ever!"

Hermione laughed lightly, "I don't have many to compare you to, sir. But based on what I've experienced I'd dare say you are the _best_ Minister I've ever met."

* * *

Hermione Apparated back to Ottery St. Catchpole, shopping bags clutched in her hands, and made her way to Downey's, a small pub that Ginny claimed had the best fish and chips around. When she walked inside she saw Ginny was already there, sitting at a table at the back of the pub. Ginny was tapping her fingers against the table and one of her knees was bouncing jerkily.

_I wonder why she's so jumpy?_

She hoped that Ginny would have calmed down after Harry and Ron's mostly safe return the previous evening.

She walked over and threw her shopping down into one of the chairs and then took the seat across from Ginny, who didn't look up at her arrival. The younger witch looked drawn, yet anxious.

"Ginny?" she said, quietly.

Ginny looked at her, startled, and said quickly,

"Oh, good, you're here. Listen, I don't really want to eat here anymore. Can we just go home?"

Hermione was taken aback but said, "Yes, but are you ok?"

"I'm fine. I just don't like it in here. Let's go," and with that Ginny bolted from her seat and grabbed Hermione's hand, pulling her from the pub just as she got a hold on her shopping.

As soon as they were outside, Ginny Disapparated them into her bedroom at the Burrow.

"Ginny! What do you think you are doing?! You have the trace on you and you don't even have an Apparation license! You can't just do those kinds of things!"

Hermione threw her bags down and smoothed her crumpled outfit, glaring at Ginny. Ginny did not seem to be splinched, but she did look like she was in pain.

"Honestly, Hermione, no one cares about me doing underage magic. How can you even think about anything else right now? With them out there doing Merlin knows what!"

She sat on her bed now and crossed her arms tightly around her stomach as if it ached. Hermione walked over and stood in front of her, unsure of the right thing to say.

"Ginny, they aren't on a raid today. They are fine."

"_Fine? Really?_ Are you daft, Hermione?! They could've died, yesterday! Ron was in the hospital and all you care about is underage-"

"Enough." She said it so quietly but with so much venom that Ginny was silenced immediately. _How dare she?_ Hermoine was at her wit's end yesterday when Ron was out on his raid. Hadn't she sat with Ginny all morning, waiting for news, trying to distract, to comfort?

"Don't you dare lecture me on the dangers they are facing. I know first hand what they are going through. I spent the last year out there with them. I don't like it anymore than you do, but if you love Harry and Ron, then you have to let them do this. You have to trust they are safe. It's the only way,"

She couldn't tell if Ginny was going to scream again or cry. There was silence for a while, but eventually Ginny simply groaned and fell back onto her bed.

"This might actually be worse," she said to the ceiling, as Hermione stood over her.

"What do you mean?"

"This. The waiting, the, I don't know, _longing_. I mean, when you three were gone, I was messed up over it sometimes, thinking I might never see any of you again. But I knew the possibility was there. I knew that's why Harry had broken up with me, in part. I know he said it was to protect me from the Death Eaters and Voldemort, but I also think it was to protect me from the possibility that he would not survive."

Hermione took a deep breath and sat down next to Ginny on the bed. They hadn't really talked about how they felt during those long months, Hermione with Ron and Harry, and Ginny with Neville and Luna, all of them fighting. Since they'd gotten back, all Ginny had been doing is trying to distract Hermione with ploys to talk about sex.

"Even though I couldn't see you, or talk to any of you," she went on, sitting up as she spoke, "I felt like we were all fighting the same war. Us at Hogwarts, you all out looking for Horcruxes," _So Harry had told her. _Hermione wondered if he had told her what _all _the Horcruxes had been, "now, Harry and I are together, like _ really, really _together. And I let myself think we were all safe for a while, but I was just bloody kidding myself." She pulled the tie from her long, red hair and ran her fingers through it.

"I understand Ginny, I really do. But you can't get like this every time they leave for the Ministry. I know that Ron isn't planning to stay on much longer, but Harry is committed to this as a career. What are you going to do?"

Ginny crossed her legs on the bed and looked at Hermione. She shrugged, "I don't know. I guess I haven't thought about it. I just spent all day wishing that we had waited. To get back together…and everything…" she trailed off and Hermione had a good idea what _everything_ was, seeing as she spent most of yesterday morning wondering the same thing herself.

"You can't though, Ginny. You can't regret any of it. Even if something were to…" She couldn't finish her thought, it was too painful. The idea of Ron not coming home after a raid, of being seriously injured or worse, she couldn't bear it.

"It's not the same, Hermione. I mean, Harry and I, we've talked about marriage, already! I'm not even of age and he's told me his intentions. He's my future. If he dies, I don't have anything,"

Hermione suddenly felt irritated with this young girl, whom she had grown to cherish like a little sister and a close friend. "Don't say that Ginny, it's ridiculous to say that. You know you are much more than Harry Potter's little girlfriend and I won't have you behaving otherwise!" She saw Ginny flinch at her words and tried to calm herself, "They will be ok. You know they are capable. And even if something did happen, well, I have no regrets and neither should you," She straightened herself up, really trying to believe the words she was saying.

Hermione saw Ginny give her an appraising look now and she tried to suppress anything that might give away the meaning of her words. When Ginny's face then turned to a look of disbelief, she knew she'd been unsuccessful.

"You didn't,"

"I don't know what you are talking about," she said, trying to avoid Ginny's eyes.

"Oh my god, you did. You did! Oh, this is brilliant! When did it happen? Oh Merlin, what did he say? I can't believe this!" Ginny's attitude had done a complete turn-around as she stared, transfixed at Hermoine's squirming form. Hermione couldn't believe that Ginny was so eager to hear about her private relationship with Ron. He was her brother. However, Hermione felt like if this would keep Ginny from spending the rest of the day beside herself with worry, she could share a little bit. She was actually keen to talk to someone about it.

"Ok, but swear you will not tell Harry anything,"

Ginny clapped her hands together like a little girl, "I swear, I promise!"

"It was yesterday, before he left. Honestly, it wasn't planned or anything, it just happened. And it was…nice."

Ginny made a face. "Nice? What kind of word is nice?"

Hermione felt embarrassed, she didn't know how to talk about it, not with Ginny, or with anyone.

"Well how would you describe your first time?"

Ginny looked humbled, but just as Hermione was getting over her initial embarrassment Ginny said, "You mean with Harry?"

_What?_

"Erm, what else would I mean Ginny?"

She couldn't believe what Ginny had just admitted. She had always assumed Harry was Ginny's first, but she supposed that she and Dean did date for a while, even if thought Ginny was far too young to even be dating so often, let alone _that._

Ginny was blushing now but sat up straight, trying to look unabashed, "Well, I simply wondered if you were asking about my first time with Harry or if you meant when I lost my virginity,"

That confirmed it. Now all Hermione could hope was that it was, in fact, Dean, as he was very sweet to her, even if it didn't work out in the end.

"Both, I guess?"

Ginny snorted and pulled a pillow into her lap.

"Fine. My first time was pretty lousy. It was painful and awkward, but really quick."

"Where?" was all Hermoine could manage to say.

"The Room of Requirement,"

"Wait," Hermione said, suddenly very confused, "when was this, Ginny? It wasn't _after_ Harry?"

Ginny looked at her incredulously, "What? No! God, does everyone really think I'm that much of a slag?"

Hermione sighed in relief but just shook her head. She truly didn't think of Ginny that way. She had even been a little jealous that the younger witch had so many boys trailing after her in school.

"No, it was before, with Dean. About a month before we broke up. We had been rowing all the time and I was ready to end it. We had gotten into it _again, _and weren't talking. I think he knew I was thinking about ditching him. Dean came and found me and brought me to the room. He told me he was in love with me. Well, one thing led to another and...it was over before I knew it,"

"How did you feel?" asked Hermione, feeling regret for something that hadn't even happened to her.

Ginny shrugged, "I didn't really feel anything. Dean was great and all, don't get me wrong. He's a sweet guy and I don't regret it. But I think that was when I knew that we weren't right for each other. It should've felt, well, like it did with Harry."

Hermione almost winced at the name. She felt strange hearing about her best friend's personal life from someone other than him, yet she was enraptured by Ginny, who was exposing herself in a way that Hermione had never seen before.

"It was perfect, Hermione. It was simple, but it just felt right. He really loved me, I could feel it in everything he did. I mean, don't get me wrong, it was still quick and there were some awkward parts," she chuckled to herself, but did not elaborate, "As far as anyone in this world is concerned, save Dean Thomas, _that_ was my first time," she gave Hermione a meaningful look to signify that what she had said would not be leaving the two of them.

Hermione nodded, "That's how it was with, um, with Ron. I mean, what you said, about feeling loved. It was overwhelming. Ron…he was…um-"

"Wait," Ginny interrupted, "on a scale of 1 to 10, how disgusting is what you are about to tell me?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Honestly, Ginny, are we having this talk or not?"

"I'm sorry! We are, we are! What was he, then?" her face was set with a grimace, but Hermione pressed forwards.

"Well, he was, crying, a bit."

"Wow, that was not what I was expecting you to say."

"I know. I know it sounds strange but I loved that he was so vulnerable. It was very intense. Though I am looking forward to learning, how to improve, at things."

It was Ginny's turn to roll her eyes now, "Of course you have to be perfect at everything! Ron doesn't know how good he's got it!"

Hermione actually relaxed and laughed until Ginny said, "So why was he crying?"

She shrugged, not wanting to tell Ginny about Ron's insecurities.

"Hmm, that is strange. Harry was very emotional too, but he didn't cry. Maybe it was just all the waiting. This year was hard on all of us."

Hermione nodded in agreement.

"So, have you and…Harry? Since then?"

Ginny laughed, "What since the first time? Blimey Hermione, like, all the time. Honestly, if you don't see us, we're shagging somewhere."

Hermione suppressed a shudder as an involuntary mental image flashed before her eyes.

"And has it…improved?"

"Of course! Well, the second time was worse, actually, because I was a bit sore still and we were both overthinking it, I think. But then all the other times have been much better. Was Ron really rubbish? I bet he was!"

"Be quiet Ginny! Ron was not rubbish! I told you, it was perfect. But…brief, and painful, and…"

she trailed off again, not sure how to describe it.

"Clumsy? Messy? Awkward?" Ginny supplied.

"I don't know if that's how I'd describe it. Um, we…laughed, a bit."

"I thought you said he was crying?"

"He was, at first. We had been talking and things had gotten emotional. But once it got down to the physical, of contraceptive charms and what goes where, well, it was all rather amusing." She blushed as she watched Ginny's face go through a range of emotions from disgusted to amused to confused.

"You are both mental," she finally decided, rolling off her bed and pulling something out of from underneath.

It was a book.

"Here, I know how you like to read books," Ginny said to Hermione with a smirk.

"What is it?" she asked, taking the unmarked book.

Before she could open it Ginny responded, "_Intimacy for the Discerning Witch. _I nicked it off Mum."

Hermione slammed the book closed just as she started to look through it.

"You stole a _sex book_? From your m_um_?" she whispered, even though there was no one around to hear them.

Ginny didn't seem fussed, "Honestly Hermione, my Mum has seven kids, it's not like I don't know how we got here!" Hermione was still speechless, she could _not_ get tips from a book that was used by the mother of the man she was shagging. It was just wrong. She shook her head and slid the book back across the bed to Ginny.

"Thank you, but no," When she saw Ginny's incredulous expression she got up from the bed and walked over to her shopping. After digging through a bag containing a new swimsuit, two blouses and some undergarments, she pulled out two books. She carried them back over to the bed and held them out to Ginny.

"You dirty minx!" Ginny cried, looking at the books.

The first one, "_Magical Relationships_" was quickly discarded onto the floor as Ginny began flipping through the second one. "_The Joy of Sex" _was now being unceremoniously flipped to all the pictures by Ginny, who was squealing in delight.

"Woah!" Ginny said, turning the book to face Hermione, "check that out! I'm going to suggest this to Harry!"

Hermione was flushing, feeling annoyed, "Ginny, will you stop it?!" Ginny looked up at her like she was mental and started browsing the chapter that accompanied the pictures. "Oh, wow, are you going to show these to Ron?" she asked, not looking up.

"No! And I wish I hadn't shown them to you. You are acting like a child." Hermione said, stuffily.

Ginny just shrugged, "I don't know, I think it's pretty grown up to talk about this stuff with my brother's girlfriend," she looked up, suddenly serious, "I need this, Hermione. I like that I have you to talk to. I mean, I have six-_five_-older brothers and I'm shagging the Chosen One,"

The both snorted and Hermione smiled at her. She knew what Ginny meant. She was an only child and never really had any female friends. Her best friends were Harry and Ron. _And Ginny. Of course, Ginny._

"What is so funny?" Hermione asked, seeing Ginny giggle again as she glanced at the book in her lap.

Ginny turned the book around so Hermione could read it.

Her eyes got wide and both of them fell about laughing.

* * *

"Oi!" she heard from downstairs as she folded the clothes she had bought on her way home from the Ministry, and then "I dunno," as two sets of footsteps bounded up the stairs. She heard the door on the second floor close and then a single set of footsteps climbed the stairs to Ron's room.

He opened the door and beamed at her, "Hello, love!"

She was glad to see he was in a good mood and that he was no longer wearing bandages. The cuts on his arms were barely visible now.

"Hello, how was your day?"

Ron shrugged, kicking off his shoes and pulling his business robes over his head.

"Where is everyone?"

"Out. Your mum is at Andromeda's and George is at the shop,"

"Excellent," he said, casting the full-area silencer he had insisted she teach him only the night before and then throwing his wand on top of his pile of robes.

"What are you-"

But she was cut off as Ron covered the space between them in four steps and kissed her passionately. She let herself melt into him, trying not to overthink things, not wanting it to be awkward. Her conversation with Ginny was still fresh in her mind as Ron began to pull her top off.

"I had a good day too, you know," she panted, as they broke apart to remove their shirts.

"Great, you'll have to tell me about it later," he said quickly, before resuming his position of lips attached to skin. He was moving her over to the bed and she reached behind, unclasping her bra as they went. She laid back on the bed with him hovering over her. She watched as he confidently performed the contraception charm.

"Now that that's taken care of," he said, throatily, running his fingertips down over her breasts to her navel and back up.

"What?" she asked, suddenly fearful. She didn't think she could handle it if he just took her right now without any ceremony. She felt like she might cry from anxiety. She looked in his face and could see the worried now etched across it.

_Oh no, she was ruining everything._

"Well, whatever you want, Hermione. We don't have to...I just thought...just in case..." He was blushing now and slowing backing off the bed

She sat up and kissed him deeply.

"Please."

* * *

_A/N2: Thanks for reading! That was the longest chapter I've written so far and I'd love to hear what you think about it! Please __review!_

_Chapter 12 will focus on Neville, I hope to have it up by next week. _


	12. Closure- Neville

_Author's Note: Sorry for the delay! I got wrapped up in school and The Ultimate Pairings Drabble Challenge!, which is quite fun and good exercise for coming up with new ideas. Thanks to everyone who has been sending PM or public reviews, they really help to spur the story on so keep them coming!_

_**I do not own Harry Potter**_

* * *

**May 14- Closure**

**Neville**

"Neville! Neville Frank Longbottom, get up this instant!"

Neville threw the pillow he had placed over his head at the door.

"I'm up!" he yelled, rolling over to glance at his father's watch sitting on his bedside table. It was almost noon.

"You better be! I want to see you downstairs in twenty minutes or I'm coming in there to get you!" his grandmother shouted from the other side of the door. He heard her stomping down the hall as he swung himself up to sitting.

He looked over the contents of his bedside table as he put the watch on his wrist. There was a photo of him with his parents when he was about a year old, his fake galleon from the DA and a few pieces of parchment. Several were letters from Seamus, who he had been meaning to reply to, but hadn't found the time. There was another from his uncle, who was suddenly keen to catch up after what he'd read in the Daily Prophet, while yet another was from the Minister of Magic himself. The piece on top was still slightly rolled up. He had only glanced at it briefly before finally falling asleep at daybreak. Since the raid he hadn't been able to sleep at night.

He looked at the parchment properly now and sighed.

_Neville,_

_I'd very much like to see you soon. Contact me via galleon or letter to set a time. Ignoring me isn't productive. _

_Your girlfriend,_

_L_

He knew he was being a rubbish boyfriend. He hadn't seen Luna since Fred's funeral. He had written her a letter Monday once he knew about the raid and told her that he'd contact her by coin when he made it home safe. But he hadn't. Maybe it was because he hadn't felt safe since that day. Luna had come by yesterday but his grandmother had sent her away, claiming Neville was at the Ministry and assuring her that everything was fine. He was extremely grateful to his gran for the alibi, seeing as everything was far from fine and he had not, in fact, been back to the Ministry since Tuesday. He knew he had to go back tomorrow. A debriefing was scheduled to go over what had happened that day. A Death Eater was dead. Neville's wand had been used to perform not one, but two, Unforgivable Curses. He knew they were going to use Priori Incantatum and he needed to be ready with an explanation.

As he dressed he thought again about that day. How he watched Ron lead with confidence, how Tully dueled expertly from atop her broom, how he had tortured and killed the last person responsible for his parent's insanity. Neville glanced at himself in the mirror. He was pale, unshaven and covered in a thin layer of sweat. He thought he could stand a shower but he knew he'd have to face his gran before that. He wouldn't put it past her to pull him straight out starkers to get a look at him.

He plodded down the stairs, dreading the conversation that was to come. He had come to terms with many things in the last two days. One of those things was that he did not have what it took to be an Auror. The other was that this would be the ultimate disappointment to his grandmother.

He turned into the kitchen to see her sitting at the table, cup of tea clutched between her bejeweled and bony fingers. She looked up at him, brow furrowed severely. He steeled himself.

"I made scones," she said, appraising his haggard appearance.

He could not disguise his surprised expression. His gran never baked, he did not know how to proceed.

"Sit," she supplied, as if reading his mind.

He pulled out a chair and sat across from her. She waved her wand and placed a cup of tea, a plate of scones and some cream in front of him.

"Thanks," he said flatly as he took a pastry from the plate.

He picked at the scone in silence, not looking at his gran, waiting for her to continue this conversation that she was forcing upon him.

Finally she said, "When are you expected at the Ministry?"

He cleared his throat, "Tomorrow, there's a debriefing..."

"And then what?"

He looked up. _What did she mean 'And then what?'_

"Sorry?" he said dumbly.

"Well, what are you going to do, Neville? You can't hang around here all summer waiting for that Herbology workshop. Clearly you don't plan on going back to being an Auror,"

Even though this was something he had decided, hearing her say it made him defensive. He didn't know why but hearing his Gran accept his defeat made him want to fight.

"I am still an Auror, Gran. They told me to stay home until the debrief,"

"Because you're more use to them here then you are there. Neville, you're a wreck,"

Her words were like a punch to the face. He blinked at her like she had physically struck him.

"Neville, I know you aren't going to tell me what happened, but it must be bad if you are hiding in your room from that kooky girlfriend of yours," he made to defend Luna but his gran held up a hand, "Now, now, I like her well enough. She's very pretty and I know she makes you happy. Or she _did_, before this,"

He slumped in his chair, breaking his scone into smaller and smaller pieces, thinking about what his should tell his gran. Augusta Longbottom was sharp, wise and formidable. She probably knew everything that was happening to him and would happen to him for the rest of his life. There was no hiding.

"I have to go back, don't I? Or else I'm a failure to the family, to my parents…" He jumped when she slammed her bony hand on the table.

"Oh, give it a rest, Neville! Honestly, do you think I give a rat's fart if you continue this farce?"

"Farce?"

"Yes, farce! You are not an Auror, Neville, and I don't think either of us will be very disappointed if you move on before you are seriously injured or killed. I'm proud of you, your parents would be proud of you, for everything you've done this past year, but it's over. You can live your life how you want to now. You don't have to fight."

_He was dreaming._ This conversation was happening the way it did when he was feeling optimistic, thinking that maybe his gran wouldn't be bothered by the fact that he couldn't do what his parents had. He would get hopeful, thinking these things, but then he'd hear her shout for him up the stairs and remember that Augusta Longbottom was not a sensitive, weak woman. She was a fighter.

"But, what about upholding the family name? What about Dad?"

Augusta tilted back her mug and finished off the last of her tea before speaking.

"Neville, your father was tortured into insanity when he was only a few years older than you are now. I lost him forever that day, but I had you. I'm an old woman now and I've raised two boys to adulthood. If having you leave the Auror Department means I get to see you enjoy your life a little longer than Frank got to, well, I think we've all earned it."

Neville couldn't hold back the tears that were flooding his eyes now. This was really happening. He didn't have to be an Auror anymore, he didn't have to fight or be afraid. He saw his grandmother conjure a hankerchief and toss it to him. Then she spoke in a quiet voice.

"That being said, Neville. I think you should assist the department a little longer. This instance, well, it was unique, wasn't it?"

He stopped sniffling into the fabric and looked up at her. She was holding a paper out to him. He glanced at the front page and felt a lump grow in his throat.

_Death Eaters Captured-Rodolphus Lestrange Dead!_

_A ministry raid of a suspected Death Eater hideout has resulted in the capture of two rogue Death Eaters and the death of another. Thorfinn Rowle and Amycus Carrow were apprehended around 9:30 Tuesday morning by the Auror Department at an abandoned house in Bristol. Rodolphus Lestrange was also apprehended but was not taken alive. Sources say he looks to have been hit with the killing curse. The prophet would like to know if this was administered by another Death Eater, was a result of backfiring or if Aurors are now using Unforgivable Curses to reach their means. The Minister was not available for comment at the time this was published, but sources tell us that in addition to regular Auror staff, junior Aurors that were recruited from the Hogwart's group Dumbledore's Army may have also been present at this skirmish. Due solely to the new decree passed by the Minister of Magic, the Daily Prophet is no longer allowed to print the names of Aurors or those associated with them, though one can guess which Hogwarts students would be highly desirable to the Ministry._

_Because of the charges placed on these particular Death Eaters, each will be tried this Friday, the 16th of May, by partial-Wizengamot in closed trials. The prophet suspects that neither man will be seeing daylight again for the rest of their lives. _

Neville sighed. _She knows._ He hazarded a glance at his grandmother only to find she was not looking at him, but was instead very involved with the act of smearing clotted cream on half a scone.

"Gran…" he started, not sure what to say. _I killed someone. And it felt amazing. No, probably not that. _

She shook her head, before taking a bite of her scone. "It doesn't matter, Neville," she dabbed at her mouth with her napkin, "We both know that was a special circumstance. You have talent, determination and, well, bollocks,"

Neville snorted involuntarily. His gran had said _bollocks._

"Now, if you want my opinion, you should help the department for a few more weeks. If not because you want to, then at least because it might look…suspicious…if you suddenly quit after the curious events surrounding the death of that maniac," she gave him a pointed look. They were both on the same page. He had tortured someone. He had committed murder. He would be going back to the Ministry. She was looking out for him.

"Right," he agreed, vaguely, "I should get a shower, I need to go see Luna," he made to stand from the table.

"You need to go see Harry Potter,"

"What? Why?" He didn't think he could have this talk with his Gran and Harry in one day. Though he supposed he should find out what he had told the Ministry already about that day.

"He stopped by this morning. He said he needed to talk with you about the debriefing. I explained your new…sleep schedule…and assured him you'd be over this afternoon."

He sighed and pushed himself heavily from the table. "Very well. Can I at least have a shower first?" he asked, dramatically.

His Gran raised her eyebrows and gave a sniff, "_Please," _she replied, with as much sarcasm as her grandson.

* * *

Neville took the Floo directly into the Leaky Cauldron's upstairs sitting room. He hadn't wanted to see anyone else, especially reporters. He was brushing off the last of the ash from the fireplace when Hannah Abbot came in.

"Alright, Nev?" she said, placing a pitcher of butterbeer on the sidetable. "Sorry about the Floo. Doubt it's been cleaned in ages, no one ever uses it,"

He gave her a smile, "It's no problem. Thanks for letting us use this room,"

"Of course! I was talking to Ernie and we thought it'd be a good meeting room for ex-DA. Like I said, no one ever uses it and it saves me the trouble of disillusioning booths downstairs," she said cheerily, sitting on the arm of the chair opposite him.

He was distracted by Hannah's face but he couldn't figure out what it was that was different.

"Did you do something with your hair, Hannah?"

She blushed and shook her head, "No, d'you think I should?"

He chuckled, "No, I was just thinking it looked nice, is all,"

"Oh, well, thanks!" she beamed back at him.

"So how is Ernie?" he asked, politely. He'd known that Hannah and Ernie were like the Ron and Hermione of Hufflepuff; best friends until the war, when they finally got together.

Hannah shrugged, blushing again, "He's fine," was all she said.

"Oh?" Neville was strangely curious about the state of their relationship, though he wasn't sure why. He figured it was because he never really liked Ernie and thought Hannah could do better.

"Yes. Well, I've decided I'm not going back to Hogwarts," she blurted out suddenly.

Neville was surprised by this statement. The few times he'd spoken to Hannah at the Leaky, she'd usually say things like "When I'm back at Hogwarts…"

"Really? I thought you were keen to go back. What changed?"

She gestured to the room they sat in, "This changed. Tom has offered me the Leaky to run as my own. He said he wants to retire to the sea, has a cottage there. He said he would spend the next year teaching me the ins and outs of it if I'm interested,"

"Wow, Hannah, that's brilliant! You're going to own this whole place?"

She nodded happily. "And I'll live here too. The top floor has a nice flat,"

"Excellent," he said, feeling genuinely happy for his friend.

She gave him a small smile but then faltered, "Thanks. I wish Ernie was as happy for me as you are. He's upset that I'm not going back to school. He says I'm 'wasting my potential'," she made quotations in the air, "but I really like working here. I like talking to people, hearing how the Wizarding world is coming together after the war. Plus, I feel like I've gotten as much as I can from Hogwarts, you know?"

He nodded. He understood what she meant. He didn't think he could return to the school as a student after last year. But he also felt like he was missing something, not spending his days defending the school and its students. There was an emptiness that he hoped being an Auror would fill. _Only the next few weeks will tell._

Just then the fireplace glowed green and Harry came spinning into view. He coughed and flailed his hands to displace the cloud of ash that was swirling around him.

"Oh, blimey," Hannah said, jumping off the chair, "_Tergio!_" she pointed her wand at the dust cloud that was Harry Potter. Neville watched as the ash was siphoned off of Harry's coughing form. When he was cleaned up a bit his coughs turned to laughter, "Thanks, Hannah. Might need to gut that one out, you think?"

"I know, I know! I promise I'll find time to do it today. D'you need anything Harry?" he shook his head, "Alright, then. I'm going to go help Tom prepare for the dinner rush. I'll see you both in a bit,"

They waved to her as she left the room. Harry poured himself a butterbeer and sat in the chair Hannah had just vacated.

"Have you talked to Luna?" Neville's eyes were pulled from the door Hannah had just walked through by the random question.

"Wha? Um, no, I sent her an owl this afternoon. I'm going to her's for supper,"

Harry nodded at him curiously, taking a sip of his drink.

"What?" he asked, more accusingly this time.

"Nothing, it's nothing. I'm just wondering if you realize what your absence might have done to her, after everything we've all been through,"

He felt himself flush with anger. _Did Harry really think he hadn't been agonizing over Luna for the last two days? That the image of her being dragged off the train hadn't haunted his waking nights for the first time since he'd gotten her message of safety in April? _

"I don't want to talk about Luna. I doubt that's why you wanted to see me today," He knew his voice was unusually harsh, but he couldn't help taking out his frustration and anger on Harry.

"No," he began, not reacting to Neville's tone, "we need to talk about what happened with Lestrange,"

_Straight and to the point. _Neville thought. He sighed and took a long pull of butterbeer. He wished he was drinking something stronger, but he didn't want to ask Hannah for Firewhisky.

"I-" _He what? Harry watched him torture and kill someone. _No matter how much that someone deserved it he didn't know how to explain himself.

"_You,_" Harry cut across him with emphasis, "had your wand wrestled from your hand by Rodolphus Lestrange after he lost his in the blast from the house. He performed the Cruciatus Curse on _you_ with your wand. I ran up and cast _Stupefy_ at him at the same time he cast the killing curse at you. The spells rebounded off one another, the killing curse hitting him and the stunning spell hitting you. That is what happened, Neville."

He looked at Harry in complete shock.

"But…" he was speechless. Harry had covered for him.

"But what, Neville? He deserved it. He tortured your parents. You did what you needed to do, just like me. How can I hold that against you?"

"You didn't use an Unforgivable," he mumbled.

"I used several Unforgivables this year. I crucioed Carrow, I imperiused goblins and Death Eaters. I would've used Avada Kadavra on Voldemort if that was what it came down to, but he was keen enough to kill himself before I had to. Do you think anyone would've persecuted me if I had? He's dead and so are the Lestranges. Everyone is better off for it. Beating yourself up over it isn't going to change anything Neville, believe me, I know what I'm talking about."

Neville stared at his friend, The Boy Who Lived, The Chosen One. He was just a person, like Neville. Barely an adult and older than he could imagine. Why did he have such conflicting feelings about him?

"Why did you have me kill the snake?" Neville asked, suddenly.

"What?" Harry's tone indicated that he was not expecting the question either.

"Why did you tell me about it? How did you know I'd be the one to do it?"

Harry looked sheepish. "I didn't know it would be you, but I knew you could do it. I've known for a while now you are capable of more than even you can imagine."

Neville blinked at him, "How? Why?"

"_He will have power the Dark Lord knows not_," Harry said.

Neville furrowed his brow at Harry's cryptic words, "What is that from?"

"The prophecy,"

"What?! You heard it? How?" Neville felt sweat start to bead on his forehead, but he wasn't sure why.

"Dumbledore. It was made to Dumbledore. I heard the whole thing. Neville, the prophecy talked of a boy, born at the end of July. It could have been any boy, but he decided it was me,"

Neville now felt like his was staring at Harry from the end of a long tunnel.

"It could have been me,"

"It could have been you,"

There was silence for a long time as this new truth was spinning in Neville's head. Neville as the Boy Who Lived, Neville on the run, trying to defeat Voldemort, Neville's parents, dead.

"But why? Why wasn't it me?"

Harry shrugged, "I'd say good luck, but clearly it wasn't. We both lost our parents because of Voldemort, and I know that even if I'd never heard the prophecy, I'd have wanted Voldemort dead for what he did to them, to me. And I know you would too. You did. You never even heard the prophecy yet you spent all of last year fighting. The prophecy was about both of us. It was true for both of us. We've both faced our demons now, Neville. It's alright,"

Neville was quiet for a moment but then shook his head,

"No, mate, I don't think it is. You don't have to fight anymore either, but you are. You've wanted to be an Auror for years and you aren't going 'round the twist every time you're face to face with a Death Eater."

Harry rubbed his stubbled chin, looking thoughtful, "I dunno, I did crucio Amycus because he spat at Professor McGonagall. And Susan pulled all the fingernails out of his hands before we took him to the Ministry. I think it's always going to be a little personal."

"Susan really did that? Blimey,"

"Yeah. I can't even begin to understand what the last year at Hogwarts was like. Ginny doesn't like to talk about it but I know it involved a lot of torture and pain. If Carrow had done something to Ginny like Lestrange did to your parents, well, I don't know if he would've made it to the Ministry alive either,"

He looked at Harry as saw the traces of a comforting smile in his tight grimace. He tried to return it, then looked down at his watch, feeling tears pool in his eyes.

"Well, I still don't know if I've got what it takes to be an Auror. I'm going to stay on for a few more weeks," he added as Harry looked to protest, "But then I'm going off to do that Herbology workshop. I know it isn't as exciting as catching dark wizards, but plants are my passion,"

He looked worriedly at Harry now, waiting for a reaction. For some reason, Harry's opinion mattered almost as much as his Gran's. He was startled when Harry suddenly laughed and said "I dunno, Neville, I've almost been killed by a few plants in my day, I'd reckon it's pretty exciting,"

* * *

_A/N 2: This will be the last Neville POV chapter for a while. I love him so but I want to give focus to a few other characters that have been biding their time! Don't worry, we'll still get some Neville interaction. Tomorrow, in fact, when we will finally see what's been going on with Seamus Finnegan!_


	13. Divided- Seamus

_Author's Note: This is the most difficult chapter I've written so far! Not much is known about Seamus, so hopefully you enjoy the liberties I've taken with him. I also did some research to adequately write his accent. Hope you enjoy it!_

_Ratings note: There is some more explicit language in this chapter. It is Seamus, __after all._

* * *

**May 15- Divided**

**Seamus**

"Listen yeh buggering twat! I'm s'posed t' be in the courtroom! I'm a bleedin' witness!"

Seamus' robes were ruffled up as the courtroom security wizard roughly escorted him back towards the atrium.

"Can't yeh just get Harry Potter? Or Neville Longbottom? They'll tell ya-will you get the hell off me!?" He shouted the last bit, ripping his arm out of the other wizard's grasp.

When Seamus saw the man reach for his wand he lifted his hands in surrender, "I'm not fightin' yeh. Just don't like being gripped up is all."

The man looked at him suspiciously and kept a hold on his wand as he directed Seamus towards the elevator.

"Complete rubbish," Seamus muttered as he tried to smooth out the business robes he had purchased for just such an occasion. He heard the elevator approaching and was both relieved and infuriated to find himself face to face with Neville, Harry and Ron.

"Shay?" Neville said, apprehensively.

This made Seamus want to explode again, "Yeah it's me, you sodding prat! Ever think about returnin' a bleedin' owl now and then? Hey! C'mon now-Merlin, would you three-PLEASE!" Seamus was being manhandled by the security wizard again. The three in the elevator shouted in protest.

"It's alright! It's alright! He's with us!" Harry shouted.

The wizard released him suddenly and Seamus unceremoniously fell to the floor in front of his fellow ex-Gryffindors.

"This man was trying to sneak into a private hearing," the security wizard argued, seeming apprehensive about releasing Seamus into their custody.

"I was not! I told you I'm here t' testify against that ars-"

"Finnegan? What are you doing on the floor?"

He turned to see Professor McGonagall rushing towards the scene. Ron and Harry reached down to boost Seamus up under his arms. Neville seemed unable to look at him in the eye.

"I _was,"_he began, standing up straight, "just trying t' explain that I most definitely should be in that courtroom," Seamus pointed over to a door that was surrounded by even more security wizards, as well as reporters and other interested parties.

"Quite," McGonagall said, looking over at the guard. "I was just heading to the witness chambers myself. I'll escort him, Mr. Hornsby." The guard flushed for a second before nodding and walking back to his post amongst the throngs. "Shall we?" she said to him now, a small smile playing on her face.

"Yeah," then he looked back at the three, "S'pose I'll see you all later,"

He tried to catch Neville's eye again but he seemed to be looking everywhere except at Seamus.

"Nev?"

Looking at his shoes he said, "Yeah, see you, Shay."

* * *

"Mr. Finnegan, could you please tell the court about your experiences with Amycus Carrow over the course of your last year at Hogwarts?"

Seamus wiped his sweaty hands on his robes. Though many of the seats were vacant, Seamus thought the Wizengamot were still a very intimidating bunch.

"Yeah, well, Amycus taught Dark Arts, he would have us-"

"I'm sorry, but don't you mean _Defense Against_ the Dark Arts?" the new Undersecretary, Lester Mulroney, asked him.

He shook his head, "No, just Dark Arts. See, like I was saying, he would have us perform the Cruciatus curse on kids who were in detention. And he'd Imperius girls t'…do stuff…" he said vaguely.

He looked at Mulroney and saw man's face whiten.

"Could you, could you please elaborate?"

Seamus steadied his breath. He looked over at Harry, Ron, Neville and Susan, who were sitting with the Aurors. The expressions on their faces mirrored his emotions. He wasn't sure how much Harry and Ron knew about last year, but they were sure getting an earful today.

"Yeah-um, yes. For a while Amycus Carrow would Imperius girls t' do errands for him. Pass out papers, clean his office, serve him food."

Mulroney looked somewhat relieved until Seamus went on, his voice shakier now.

"He would also have them, remove, you know, their clothes. Just t' like, embarrass them, I think. I don't think, I mean, I never saw him _do_…anything," he could feel the bile creeping up his throat at the thought.

There were grumblings from the Wizengamot at this. He didn't understand why he had been the one selected to testify for the DA. Neville was there. He had seen the same, even worse sometimes.

"You said, for a while?" Mulroney ground out between clenched teeth.

"Ah, yeah, well once that started happening, we, the DA that is, we learned how t' lift the curse. Then we taught others how t' lift it and how t' resist it alt'gether."

There were mutterings at this as well, but Seamus thought they sounded impressed.

"Then they just went back t' torturing us or forcing students t' torture each other."

Hearing the casual way he said it made even Seamus himself cringe, along with many members of the courtroom.

Then Mulroney asked, "And did Carrow ever ask you to use the Cruciatus curse on anyone, Mr. Finnegan?"

"Ah, yeah. Loads of times. But I wouldn't do it,"

"How did you get away with refusing?"

"Well, we, um the DA, we were in hiding most a' the year. I knew they'd torture me a bit in classes, but nothing too serious, so I would go t' try and protect the others. But at night I'd have t' hide. He said," Seamus took a deep breath, "Carrow told me he would kill me personally if he ever found me outside a' classes."

He heard a gasp from the Auror's booth and looked over to see Susan clutching her hand over her mouth. He had never told anyone that before, except Neville and Dean.

"Very well, Mr. Finnegan. We thank you for your time," Mulroney said, organizing the papers on his podium. Before Seamus could get up he heard another man speak.

"If I may, Mr. Undersecretary?" asked Auror Robards.

Mulroney peered at the man but then gave a nod.

"Mr. Finnegan, you spent much of last year in hiding with the resistance group known as Dumbledore's Army, is this correct?"

"Yeah, the DA, like I said," he replied, looking confused.

"And, would I be correct in saying that you were the head of this operation?"

"Um, no, I mean, I guess I was _a_ leader. But no, Harry was in charge and then Neville, Neville Longbottom, he sort a' took it over when Harry…well we all just looked t' Neville."

He looked to him now, but Neville would not meet his eyes.

"Two more questions, Mr. Finnegan, if you would. Did you ever see Mr. Longbottom use the Cruciatus curse while at Hogwarts?"

"What?! No way! Neville would never! He almost lost an eye after refusing t' torture two first years, didn't he?"

Robards scribbled a note but made no sign of emotion on his face.

"And, do you know if Neville has ever used Avada Kedavra?"

Seamus gulped. Suddenly it was becoming clear that his testimony was not just about Amycus Carrow.

"No, sir. T' my knowledge Neville has never and would never use that curse,"

"So are you saying that Mr. Longbottom would never willfully kill someone?"

"I, uh-"

"That's enough Robards," boomed Kingsley Shacklebolt from his seat in the Minister's chair, "Mr. Finnegan has answered your questions so if you have nothing more about Amycus Carrow, who is actually on trial here, then we must let this young man go back to the witness booth.

Robards looked mutinous but gave the Minister a curt nod. Seamus practically scurried back to his seat between McGonagall and Flitwick.

"Next witness: Pomona Sprout,"

* * *

_This is the most rubbish celebration ever,_ Seamus thought, downing his Firewhiskey in one. He looked around the large sitting room that Hannah had reserved for the DA. He couldn't believe that only a month ago he had shared living quarters with many of these people at Hogwarts, most of whom Seamus hadn't seen since.

At the request of his mother, Seamus had stayed close to home since the Battle. He had missed all of the funerals, except Colin's. But even then he had been too much of a wreck to talk to anyone except Katie, who he then blew up at for no reason at all. He hadn't seen Dean since they both left Hogwarts though they kept in touch through letters. Dean's mum had also been understandably traumatised by the events of the past year and Dean was currently abroad visiting his mother's parents in New York City.

Thankfully, he still sent letters back with Seamus' owl, Brian, unlike _some people._ One of those people was chatting quietly in a corner with Luna Lovegood. He watched as Neville brushed some hair off Luna's face and felt a pang in his heart. Seamus hadn't seen Katie in over a week. Neville looked up and caught him staring at the intimate gesture. Seamus watched as he whispered something to Luna, kissed her cheek and walked towards him. Neville's hands were fidgeting at his sides the way Seamus had seen when one of the DA was gone longer than expected.

"Alright, Shay?" Neville said, giving him a forced smile.

He took a sip of his fresh whiskey, "Not really, Nev."

The smile on Neville's face faltered, "Listen I'm sorry I haven't written. Things have been mental."

"No kidding," Seamus said, looking at the ground. All he had wanted for the last two weeks was to hear from Neville and now he could hardly speak to him.

"Will you stop? You don't know what it's been like!"

Seamus spun his head around so fast he felt his bad shoulder crack, "'Scuse me? What did you just say t' me?"

"That's not what I meant, mate," Neville backtracked, shielding himself from a possible Seamus outburst.

"Well, what did you mean? Because from the looks of it, you've been too busy pallin' around with Aurors and snogging Luna t' send a fuckin' letter!"

They were both quiet, Seamus fuming while Neville looked abashed.

"Shay, I'm really sorry. I've been awful to everyone lately, Luna included. It's just…" Neville trailed off, pushing his fingers through his hair with a pained expression on his face.

Seamus didn't speak. He couldn't trust himself not to scream and he knew he was being hard on Neville. He thought about the questions Robards had asked him earlier that day.

"What was all that rubbish at the Ministry? 'Bout you using Unforgivables?"

Neville gave him a desperate look.

"You didn't, did you Nev?"

In response, Neville took the bottle of Firewhiskey from Seamus and poured some into his empty butterbeer glass. After taking a sip and coughing for a moment Neville whispered, "Like I said, you don't know what it's been like."

"Blimey, Neville."

"Yeah," he said into his cup.

"Does anyone know?"

Neville was drinking the whiskey heavily now. After he swallowed he nodded, "Harry and Ron, for sure. And I'm pretty sure Gran and Kingsley know as well."

"Luna?"

He shook his head, "And she's not going to either."

Seamus sighed. Katie had been the first person he told about killing Selwyn and Avery. Sure he hadn't used an Unforgivable, but he had still killed Selwyn himself and had dueled Avery with Aberforth. And Katie had been there for him. Suddenly he understood that, in some ways, Neville must've been feeling as lonely as he had been.

"Hey, Nev! Woah, woah! Save some for the rest of us, yeah?" he joked, pulling the bottle of Firewhiskey from Neville as he made to pour himself another large cup.

Neville looked up at him with a worried expression, "I'm really sorry, Seamus,"

"You've said that. Listen, don't worry 'bout it. Just try giving Brian a letter now and again when you send him off, alright?"

Neville's body visibly relaxed as he saw the smile Seamus was giving him, "Yeah, alright,"

Seamus raised his fresh glass and said, "Slainte!" as the two friends clinked glasses and drank.

* * *

Seamus aimed the smallest rock at the window he knew to be Katie's. He threw it deftly, or he at least he thought it was deftly, but he had been drinking for a few hours. He missed the window by several feet and quietly swore. Or rather, he only thought it was quietly, because a few moments later he saw Kate's face at the window, looking startled.

"Shay? What are you doing here?!" she hissed at him from her window, wrapping a sweater around her bedclothes.

"Came t' see yeh, _a grá_!" he slurred cheerily. He did have quite a lot to drink tonight.

"Seamus," she said, seeming to realize that he was intoxicated, "it's late. Why don't I come by yours tomorrow. We should talk."

He did not like the way that last bit sounded.

"'Bout what? We can talk now!" he called.

"Dammit Shay, will you shut up!? Just…just hang on. I'll be out in a second."

Seamus pulled out some of the Pepper Up potion Hannah had given him before he left the Leaky Cauldron. He took a few swigs and felt his head clear significantly. Whatever Katie needed to talk about, he wanted to be ready.

He saw her a moment later, clutching two cups of tea, wrapped in a large jumper with two fuzzy slippers on her feet. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

"Sorry, um thanks," he muttered, taking the tea, "didn't mean t' come here all fluthered but I was hoping you'd be at the Leaky tonigh',"

Katie shrugged, "You know how it is, hard to get away. Mum…" she trailed off and Seamus could completely relate. After the war both he and Katie found themselves in the role of caretaker for a single mother who was finally feeling the impact of having their only child almost die in a war. Katie's mum had most of the house packed by the time Katie returned, saying they were moving to Norway.

It took a week before Katie had convinced her to unpack the last box.

The entire time she had only communicated with Seamus in letters, neither being able to leave their mother alone to travel between England and Ireland. Then at Colin's funeral things went tits up.

He really needed to get his temper under control.

"So what did you want t' talk about?" Seamus blurted out. If she was breaking up with him, he wanted her to get it over with. Then he could take some time getting her to change her mind.

Katie sighed and slid down to sit under the large elm tree. He joined her.

"I'm just having a rough time of it, Shay. I mean, sleeping and…stuff. Lavender is really bad still and the Ministry hasn't been able to locate Leanne's parents. You and I haven't really been talking. I just thought things would be getting better by now."

He felt like a total shit, but the first thing he felt at her statement was happiness. Katie did not seem to be ditching him.

"S'okay Katie, it's going t' be fine. I saw a lot a' the DA tonight and they all looked a bit…" he searched around for word that fit, "rough,"

She smirked and took a sip of tea, "Yes, well, I suppose it's to be expected."

They were quiet for a while, drinking tea in the cold night.

"I miss you," Seamus blurted out suddenly. He felt himself flush. He had always been such a cool cucumber when it came to girls, but since the war he had been all over the place.

"I miss you too," she said quietly.

"Do you?" he pushed.

"Yes. I know we haven't been spending time together but we just need to give them some time."

Seamus took 'them' to mean his and Katie's mums.

"Katie," he exhaled. Now that he wasn't drunk anymore he didn't know if he could do this.

"Listen, I don't think we should wait. I want t' be with you now and I think it's selfish for our mams t' keep us from livin'. We could've died-"

"Exactly!" she cut in, "Merlin, could you imagine? If you had died instead of Colin?"

Her words cut him like a knife. She had taken them right from his brain. For the first week, not seeing anyone from the DA, not seeing Katie, he wished he had died instead of Colin. It wasn't fair. Colin had a big family that loved him. He had so much more to live for and was much happier with his lot than Seamus was.

"Ah, fuck!" he said as tears started coming, unbidden, down his face.

"I'm sorry, Shay. I didn't mean…"

She reached for him but he pulled away, thoroughly embarrassed by his outburst. She pulled him in again and he was too weak to resist. Seamus let her embrace him as he sobbed into her shoulder.

"What," he sniffed, "am I going t' do now?"

Seamus pulled away from her and wiped his wet face on his sleeve.

"What do you mean?"

"I had a plan. The whole time we were fightin'. I thought 'If I get out a' here alive, I'm going t' do'…all these things. All these stupid effing things."

She reached out and put a hand on his thigh. He covered it in his own and leaned his head back against the trunk of the tree.

"What things?" she pressed.

"I thought," he started, not looking at her, "that we could do like we said, yeh know? We'd fix up one a' the wrecks in Diagon Alley, set up a Quidditch shop, live above it in a flat. Ah, shit, this is stupid."

He looked away from her, not wanting to hear the reality she was bound to present him with.

There was nothing but the hooting of owls for minutes as they sat, hand in hand under the swaying branches of the elm. Then Katie whispered, "You still want those things?"

"What?" In his shock he turned to look at her, "Course I want those things, why d'you think I said them?"

She smiled and shifted closer to him, "Honestly, we were holed up in that bloody room for months. I thought you were just desperate for shag."

He snorted.

"Well, I was. Still am, as a matter of fact. But, yeah, I meant it Katie. I love you."

"Shut up, Seamus."

"What? No, I'm serious. I really love you!"

"I'm not going to shag you in the dirt behind my house, Shay."

Even in the dark Seamus could see the deep flush that covered her face as she tried to turn away from him. He brought his hands up to her face and held it still. Looking into her eyes he said, "Katherine Rhea Bell, I, Seamus Finnegan, am in love with you. Will you buy a busted up shop with me, fill it with quaffles and shag me in it as long as we both shall live?"

She stared at him with a quizzical look on her face. He moved his hands down to her neck and waited for her to speak.

Finally she said, "How do you know my middle name?"

"That's what you have t' say right now!" he shouted, laughing.

"Yeah, first things first. How do you know that?"

He shrugged, looking slightly abashed, "Well, remember that time me and Dean broke into Filch's office?"

She nodded, staring at him steadily.

"Well, I sorta had a glimpse at your permanent record,"

"Why did you do that?" she asked, not changing the tone of her voice.

"Dunno, just wanted to see what kind of trouble you got up t'?"

"And did it say, 'Dates Seamus Finnegan, is obviously a moron'?"

"Ah, hey c'mon! You were surprisingly well behaved."

She laughed and leaned her forehead against his, "Nah, I just never got caught."

He leaned up and kissed her forehead. It was the first time he had put his lips to her skin in two weeks.

"I love you too, Shay. I do. It's just complicated right now. So many people need my help. I feel like I'm being pulled in a million directions. I want to do all of those things with you. Just, not yet."

He nodded against her forehead.

"I'll help you. I'm going t' come by more. I'll bring me mam. She and yours can be mental together!"

Katie leaned back and slapped him on the arm, "My mum is not mental! She's just worried."

Seeing her angry was the last straw for him. He pulled her in, kissing her deeply on the mouth.

Katie did not immediately return his affections but after a few moments relented, moving against him in a way that reminded him of his sixth year, when she finally returned to Hogwarts after being cursed by that wretched necklace. Seamus hadn't realized how much he cared about her until he thought he might never see her again. He never wanted to feel that way again.

After a few heated moments they pulled apart, breathing heavily.

"You want our mums to meet?" was the first thing she said.

He shrugged, "Well they are gonna have t' meet some time, yeah? Don't want it t' be at the wedding."

She balked in fake surprise. "Are you asking me to marry you, Finnegan?"

"Hey now, slow down, Bell. I'm just desperate for a shag, remember?" He flashed her a devilish grin then placed a quick peck on her cheek.

"How could I forget?"

She pushed his chest lightly but then shifted her body so she could lie against his shoulder.

"So wait, what's your middle name then?"

"Hmm?" he said, pretending he didn't hear.

Katie looked at him now with that sassy fire he had missed so much, "What's your middle name, Shay?"

"I don't have one," he said, looking away.

"You're lying,"She pinched his nipple in between her fingers and he cried out, "Ow, Katie! You're going t' wake your mam!"

"Then tell me or you can explain to her why you are at my house after midnight,"

"Fine! It's Hamish!"

She released him and he rubbed his hand over his sore chest.

"So…" she said, realizing what he just said, "Your name is Seamus…Hamish?" She started giggling, "R-r-really?"

"Shut it. Yes, that is my name. Can we drop it?"

"Ohhhh," she cooed, wrapping her arms around him, "it's ok. I love you SeamushHamish."

* * *

A/N 2: Another note about Seamus' accent. I tried to make it heavier when he was angry or drunk, and less so when he is...less so. I'm not sure if that translated into the story but I wanted you to know what my thinking was!

'Tomorrow' is Lavender and it's a heavy one!

As always, I live for your reviews and will _almost_ always reply! (sometimes I check them on my phone and forget! Sorry!)

I always, always reply to notes or questions about the chapter.

Thank you for reading!


	14. Scarred- Lavender

_Author's note: Thank Merlin! I finally finished this chapter! Just when I think "This is the hardest chapter I've ever written", I go and write something way m ore difficult. So anyways, sorry it took me so long. This is a long chapter with lots going on. I really hope I wrote in a clear way. Your feedback is appreciated!_

_Ratings note: This is a heavy chapter. While there isn't any 'action' there is talk of abuse. Just so's ya know!_

_P.S. I have decided to change the chapter headings to reflect the date. I feel it is easier for me to follow along. I'll be going back and changing the previous chapters when I have the time._

_P.P.S. I don't own Harry Potter. _

* * *

**May 16- Scarred**

**Lavender**

_Carrows sentenced! DA meeting L.C. 8pm_

Lavender had felt a surge of mania at the message. She needed to see them. So last night, she had jumped into the shower for the first time in days, dressed in clothes that now seemed too big for her shrunken frame and applied some of the Weasley's Wart and Scar Smoother that Ron had sent her. She was half way out the door when her mother stopped her.

Lavender had begged, cried, screamed and threatened, but her mother would not budge. She ran up to her room and had the most violent tantrum of her life, at one point ripping a column from her four-poster bed with her bare hands. Afterwards she had fallen asleep in the wreckage and upon waking this morning, felt incredibly embarrassed. This intense anger was a part of her new personality that she was still struggling to get control of.

Lavender tried tidying up as best she could, but without her wand, it wasn't much help. She went downstairs and had a silent, but manageable, breakfast with her mum, and when she got back upstairs, her room had been restored, even looking a little tidier than it had the day before.

Lavender tried to keep busy throughout the day. She reread the stack of magazines the Patil twins had sent. She read her tarot cards but wasn't pleased with the results. She practiced the knitting stitches Fleur had taught her and she wrote letters to Katie, Neville, Ron, Cormac, Bill, Parvati, Professor Trelawney and even Hermione, though she didn't plan to send any of them.

Finally, when her stomach could not hold back the ravenous hunger, she stalked downstairs to eat dinner with her mother and father. Lavender had mixed feelings about her parents. She knew in her heart that they were looking out for her, that they cared about her, and she was extremely grateful for them and their love. But at times, when the anger pulsed through her, Lavender felt they were nothing more than wardens and she their prisoner. She had accused them, almost daily, of mistreating her, of ignoring her. But she always apologized in the end. They seemed unaffected by her outbursts, embracing her when she sobbed apologies. She knew that they would not risk her making another mistake.

It had been four days since Lavender had snuck into her parent's bedroom and found the large bottle of Living Death that the Healers had given them. They had said it should only be used sparingly and in extreme cases of restlessness or lucid nightmares. Lavender had reasoned that her life was one big lucid nightmare, and drank the bottle down in one.

When her father had come in to check on her a little after midnight, she was not breathing. He told her later, through tear-filled eyes, that he did everything he could to revive her as they waited for the Healers to arrive. Lavender supposed he told her this to show how much she meant to him, but it had only resulted in her feeling more miserable and disgusted with herself.

Lavender hadn't fought her parents when they confiscated her wand. Nor did she complain when they insisted on round-the-clock surveillance until yesterday afternoon, when she felt her pocket grow warm from the fake galleon that was constantly on her person.

Once they were all seated and eating, Lavender's father said, "Honey, your mother and I are going to go out tonight,"

There was a pregnant silence as Lavender battled with her emotions.

_Why do they get to go out but I don't? If they go out, and I'm alone, maybe I can try it again. No!_

"Oh?" was all she could trust herself to say.

"Yes, darling," her mother went on, "we thought you'd like some time with your friends, so we are going dancing for a few hours,"

"But, but the party was yesterday!" she whined, feeling a fight boil inside of her.

"We know! We know, dear," her mother said meekly. Lavender couldn't believe that her parents were actually afraid of her. "But we spoke with some of your girlfriends and well, it's a bit of a surprise sleepover!" she finished cheerily, actually clapping her hands together with excitement of her plan.

Lavender looked over at her father and saw his face was tight with worry. She would bet anything that he had disagreed with Mum about springing a surprise on her. After all, she had heard the Healer. _Stick to a routine, no sudden changes, follow the cycle_.

They were entering the safest part of the cycle, Lavender knew. She ignored this fact at times, so as to excuse her sudden outbursts of anger. But Lavender also wanted nothing more than to see her friends and knew that would never happen if she kept acting out. The only person who visited her regularly was Katie Bell, but Lavender suspected it was only because they were neighbors and Katie's mother didn't want her going very far. She had received several letters but usually didn't feel the urge to return them; they were often filled with so much pity. The only person that wrote her anything different from the usual 'it will get better's was Lee Jordan.

What had started with a simple "Get Well Soon" card had turned into many long, emotional scrolls of parchment, sometimes arriving by owl in the middle of the night. Lavender found that they had a lot in common, with Lee having lost an older sister, as well as one of his best friends, in the war and her, well, the way she was. Lee's letters were honest. He would write and tell her just how mad he was that day, how depressed, how lonely or how guilty when he didn't feel any of those things. He'd write about the radio station or about George and Angelina's weird relationship. Sometimes he'd just make her pick from a list of musical groups that he could potentially have on the show or ask her what he should wear to his Prophet interview. She could write back to him and not feel at all hindered to be herself, even if that self was having a very bad day.

Lavender found a small comfort from getting this male attention, even if it was only platonic. She was still coming to terms with the fact that no one would ever desire her again.

"Who's coming over?" she asked, pulled from these random thoughts by the scrape of her father's knife against his plate.

"Well," her mother started, clearing some plates as she went, "Katie, of course, and the Patil girls, and Hermione Gra-"

Lavender balked, _Hermione Granger_. "Why is she coming?"

"Well, she's your old roommate, isn't she?"

She felt her face flush with anger and gripped her fork. _Separate the urges, _Bill had said.

Lavender exhaled deeply and then said, "Yes, she is."

"Great! Well, I left ice cream in the freezer and there are some other snacks in the cupboard so you girls just help yourselves!"

Lavender let her mother kiss her cheek and stared across the table at her father, who was packing away the leftovers. When they were alone, her father said, "Are you ok, honey?"

She sighed at the timidity of his voice. This was a man who was always 'Putting his foot down' her entire life. Whenever she didn't get her way, Lavender was known to throw epic tantrums, but if Daddy 'put his foot down' she knew the jig was up. Now, seeing him like this, it just felt wrong.

"I will be, Daddy," she said, pushing up from the table and grimacing. Eating was still a pain, though a necessary one. For as hungry as she always was, Lavender couldn't believe how much weight she had lost.

"Thank you, for tonight. I know we'll have fun," she heard herself say, though inside she was screaming. _Separate the urges._

"Ok love, just want you to be happy," her father said, leaning down and kissing her forehead.

Lavender was putting the dishes away a little later when she heard a knock at the door. It was Katie, carrying a bag and a sleeping roll.

"Hi Lavender!" she said cheerily.

Lavender returned the girl's smile easily. Katie had been a comfort to her. When she would complain about the constant pity, or the pain, or the isolation, Katie was quick remind her that she is lucky to be alive. _So very lucky._

Katie greeted Lavender's parents and then placed her things next to the couch.

"Ok we're off, you girls have fun now!"

"Thanks Mrs. Brown! Mr. Brown!" Katie waved to them as they left.

As soon as the door closed Lavender slumped next to the other girl on the sofa. "Ugh, I'm so glad it's only you so far. Can you imagine if Hermione Granger got here first? I can't believe they invited her!" Lavender whined.

"Um, actually, I invited her," Katie said, looking sheepish.

"What the hell, Katie?!" Lavender shouted, but then knowing full well that was an overreaction, she added, "Oops, sorry. Been holding in all day,"

Katie did not react to the outburst, being quite used to them, but just patted Lavender's hand.

"I invited her because she's a nice person. You both need to socialize and the only thing that you've ever had against each other was Ron."

Lavender pouted but knew Katie was right. She never had a real problem with Hermione, just that she was a boring, stuffy, prissy know-it-all. She just forced herself to breath normally and nodded.

"You are doing much better at restraining yourself," Katie said, noticing the calming breaths she was taking. "How's it feel?"

Lavender shrugged and got off the couch, talking as she went to the kitchen, "It's difficult. Sometimes I'll be speaking very calmly but inside it's like I'm screaming. Bill said to separate the urges. It's a process I guess," Lavender wondered what it was about Katie that made her feel so even-keeled. _It must be some sort of calming magic, if she could manage that hothead Seamus Finnegan. _

Lavender returned to the living room with two butterbeers, only to see that it now held three people.

Almost dropping the drinks, Lavender screamed, "Parvati!" and ran towards her best friend. She embraced her, slopping liquid all over the floor and began to sob. Lavender hadn't realized how much of her emptiness was due to the absence of Parvati Patil until that moment. After a few moments she pulled away, placed the bottles on the floor and looked at the other girl, whose eyes were also full of tears.

"Oh, I missed you, Lav!"

"I missed you too! Hi Padma! It's good to see you!" She embraced the other girl quickly and then went back to Parvati, basking in her presence.

"You look good!" Lavender said, for a moment the interaction almost feeling like a reunion after a school holiday.

"Well, you know!" Parvati said airily and held up her hand. The top of two fingers were gone, they looked to have been cleanly severed at the first knuckle.

"Oh no! Splinched?"

Parvati shook her head but was still smiling. "No, it's from the battle. Molly Weasley said it looked like _sectumsempra_, that's what happened to George's ear. There was no fixing it."

Lavender took in her casual tone with horror, feeling tears pool in her own eyes. Parvati squeezed her shoulder then picked a half-full butterbeer off the ground.

"It's fine Lav, really. I can still play,"

Lavender exhaled with relief. Parvati's dream was to join the London Symphony Orchestra after Hogwarts, having been a violin prodigy since the age of seven.

She went back to the kitchen for more butterbeers as her three friends sat around the living room chatting happily. She was just walking back into the room when there was a light tap on the door.

"Um, hello?"

The conversation quieted as a halo of wildly curly hair was seen hovering at the door.

"I'll get it," Katie said, walking over to Lavender and giving her hand a squeeze.

"Hermione! Hi!" Katie cried enthusiastically, giving the tiny girl a huge hug. Lavender couldn't help but pick Hermione apart as Katie escorted her into the living room. She had always been much more curvy than Hermione, whose narrow hips and smaller breasts she envied up until sixth year, when she began to finally get a lot more attention for those attributes. Especially from a certain Ron Weasley. But now that she had lost so much weight, and Hermione had gained some womanly curves, they were similar. They could probably share clothes. _Might as well, we've shared everything else. _Lavender let a laugh slip before she covered her mouth, looking embarrassed.

When she glanced at Hermione again, she looked extremely nervous. "Hi, Lavender. Everything ok?"

"Oh, yes. Sorry! I was thinking of a funny joke. How are you Hermione? Here, put your stuff…"

But she trailed off when she saw all that Hermione had brought with her was a beaded purse.

"Are you not staying?" she asked, secretly hopeful.

Hermione blushed so it must not have been too secret, "Um, yes, well I can, if you'd like. I, um, have everything with me."

"Oh," Lavender shrugged and then plopped back down on the couch.

The girls all said their hellos and did some quick catching up. She must have stopped paying attention at some point because suddenly she realized Hermione was talking to her.

"…almost didn't make it on time. I was at my parent's house. Cleaning, you know?" she said, rolling her eyes as if Lavender was also constantly burdened with chores.

But Lavender was saved from having to admit they actually had a housekeeper by Katie who asked, "Oh, are your parents back? I thought they were still in Australia."

Hermione looked confused. "Yes, but how did you…?"

"Angelina. She tells me everything since I'm basically confined to the home," Katie rolled her eyes but smiled. "Anyway, she said, that George said, that Ron would be going off to Australia with you at some point in the next few weeks or something."

"Um, yes," Hermione replied, looking down into her drink, "We'll be collecting them shortly."

"Are they on holiday?" Lavender asked, confused.

"No, they are…in hiding still."

"Wow, Australia! Good hiding spot!" Padma exclaimed.

"How did you get them to go without you?" Parvati asked, "There's no way our parents would've left us behind! Oh, I mean, I didn't mean…" she stammered when she saw Hermione's face go red.

"No, it's fine. I don't think they would've left me behind either. They don't know about the war," Lavender could see Hermione's flush continuing down her chest. It accentuated a long scar across the girl's neck that Lavender hadn't noticed until then.

"What? But then why do they think they're hiding?" Padma asked, much more talkative than Lavender had ever seen her.

"Um, they don't. They just think they have always wanted to move to Australia."

"And they didn't want to take you with them?"

Hermione sighed, "Well, they don't know about me. At the moment," she sighed heavily, "You see, I erased myself from their memories."

Lavender looked around and saw her own shock mirrored on three other faces.

"How?" Katie asked.

"Um, it's sort of, complicated. Not that I don't think you could do it!" Hermione added quickly, "Just that, well, it's kind of boring to explain,"

"I don't think it's boring," said Parvati. The other girls agreed.

There was silence for a moment and Lavender could tell that Hermione was uncomfortable so she decided to change the subject, "So Katie, have you seen Seamus?"

Katie gave an awkward smile and nodded, "Yes, I saw him yesterday."

"Oh did you go to the Leaky?" Parvati asked, pulling a Galleon from her pocket, "I got the message but, we weren't allowed," Lavender felt heartened that she hadn't been the only one unable to meet the summons.

Katie shook her head. "Neither was I. He came by mine afterwards, completely bollocksed, I might add!" They all laughed and groaned. "He got it together though. Thank Merlin he had enough sense to get a Pepper Up for the road!"

"So…what happened?" Lavender asked, feeling like her old self for the first time in ages.

Katie exhaled and looked around, building it up, "He said he loved me."

"What?!" Shouted the other girls in genuine surprise. They had all grown up with Seamus, who was much more likely to blow something up in your face than say something sweet.

"Yeah, I know. And he really meant it. He was sobered up by then,"

"Oh really?" said Lavender lasciviously, "and how did you manage that? Finally gave it up did you?"

To Lavender's surprise, the only person who laughed at this was Hermione, who then coughed to cover it up.

Katie gave Lavender a playful push to the shoulder and said, "No! We still haven't! I'm just, I'm not ready," Katie looked around at the other girls for support, but then asked, "Why? Do you think I should?" Though Katie was the oldest girl there, she suddenly seemed much younger to Lavender.

The Patil twins both yelled, "No!" at the same time and then laughed, Hermione stayed silent and Lavender said, "Don't ask me, we all know about my disastrous sex life!" rolling her eyes dramatically.

Instead of laughter at the remark, there was an awkward silence and she noticed that all the other girls were looking at Hermione, who looked very much like she might explode with anger.

"Oh, you didn't know?" Lavender said, surprised.

Hermione glared and shook her head.

"Honestly Hermione, I didn't think you'd care so much! You didn't even seem to like him,"

Lavender saw the glare change to confusion.

"Who are you talking about?" Hermione whispered, as if afraid of her own voice.

"Cormac, of course! Wait, who'd you think I meant?"

Hermione gave her a look like she was the daftest slag on earth. Suddenly she felt like it.

"What, Ron?! Are you kidding? You had to know _that_ never ever happened!" She wanted to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.

"I thought I did know. That's why I was so surprised by what you said,"

"Oh, I wondered! Didn't mean to get you so furious! I just assumed you knew that I spent much of last year shagging that hunk of dumb, McLaggin!" Even Hermione softened up at this nickname.

"No, I didn't know. When did that happen?"

"Start of term," Parvati said. "Well, actually, the first time was-"

"I can tell it!" Lavender said, throwing a pillow at the girl, "The first time, was on the Hogwart's express,"

Both Hermione and Padma groaned in disgusted shock at the same time. The other two girls looked amused but had heard this story before.

"I know! I'm a dirty wench! I just fancied him for so long and I was so surprised when I saw him there well, I basically just let him have his way with me. It was sexy, though, let me tell you!"

The girls fell about gagging or laughing. Hermione was giving her a funny expression with an arched eyebrow.

"What?"

"Oh. I was waiting for you to tell us," she blushed and looked down at her half empty butterbeer.

"You didn't, did you?" Lavender said, remembering that Cormac had told her plainly he'd slept with other girls before her.

Hermione looked as she was going to be sick, "No! He's vile! I mean, no offense or anything,"

"Well, you did date him,"

"Just to make Ron jealoooh…sorry,"

Lavender laughed, "I reckon you did. Made me jealous too. I wanted him for so long and you just grabbed him up. Didn't know it would be so easy, until last year."

Hermione still looked embarrassed but managed a smile.

"But why? I mean, he's so egotistical, and self absorbed, and superficial, and attention seeking, and…."

"Yeah, we have loads in common!" All the girls laughed, even Hermione. "Seriously though, he's not so bad! Plus he is bloody fit and a great shag,"

"Even in a hammock?" Katie teased.

"Shut it! But yeah, even in a hammock!" she giggled, "Oh, whatever! I don't regret it, especially since that's probably the last time I'll have that anyway!" Her smile faltered as she saw the rest of the girls look solemn.

"You shouldn't say that," Parvati said, that familiar tone of pity leaking into her voice.

"I'll say what I want!" she barked, harshly.

"Lav…" Katie warned, hearing the explosion on the tip of Lavender's tongue.

"No, Katie, this isn't a moon thing. I'm tired of everyone saying it'll be ok Just look at this and tell me,"

She pulled her jumper off, then pushed her hair back and heard the satisfying sound of breath being inhaled sharply.

Her arm was a collection of scars. Some were still very clearly bite marks while others had become striations of shiny flesh. The scars continued up her arm to a large area of raised, raw looking skin on the right side of her neck. That was where the worst damage had occurred. Then they tapered off into smaller cuts and punctures behind her ear and along her jaw. One crescent moon shaped scar sat prominently on her right cheek.

"Now go ahead and say that someone will love me like this!" she dared the other girls.

Hermione was the first to speak, "Someone will love you like that, Lavender. Bill-"

"Fleur was already in love with Bill before his attack!" she cut across her, "Sure as hell haven't heard from ol' McLaggen since this happened!"

"McClaggen, is a wanker!" Katie argued, "You don't want some used broomstick like him anyway, I don't care how fit he is! And I can say for certain that someone will like you the way you are because I actually know someone who does!" The older girl crossed her arms and sat back on the couch, looking cheeky.

Lavender was quieted by this.

Finally it was Parvati who spoke, "Who?"

"Lee Jordan," Katie said with certainty. Lavender saw the other girls look surprised, but impressed.

"What? No he doesn't Katie! He writes me letters. We're friends, that's all!"

"Really? That's not what I've heard from a certain mutual best friend of mine and Lee's," Katie said in a sing-songy voice.

"Get off it Katie! He hasn't even seen me since I was in St. Mungo's anyway and then I was wrapped in all those bandages."

"He saw you in St. Mungos?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, he was being discharged snuck in to see me,"

"He must really like you then," Hermione responded, assuredly.

"How'd'you figure?"

"Well, Ron, he told me how you looked in there, Lavender. He said it was…horrible. Sure your scarring is bad, but we all have scars. You are still the, um, sexiest, girl I know."

She snorted, momentarily distracted, "You think I'm sexy Hermione?"

"Well, not like that! I just mean, you have a lot of, um, sex appeal, to men. Oh bugger, nevermind!"

"Well thanks Hermione, but I don't agree. I know we all have scars but cmon! This is a nightmare! Not to mention I'm like the world's biggest bitch half the time!"

"So you really haven't changed at all then!" Parvati teased. Padma and Katie both laughed at this while Lavender felt annoyed. Suddenly, Hermione stood up and pulled off her blouse in front of the girls.

"Hermoine, it's not that kind of sleepover!" Katie joked.

Hermione then lifted up her vest and Lavender understood. Across her torso was a light blue burst that looked like her veins had been burned from the inside. They started right below her heart, then spidered out over her left breast and down the right side of her ribs.

"I've had that since the end of fifth year. Dolohov," she said then pulled her vest down and turned her left arm to the group. The word 'Mudblood' looked red and angry etched into her bicep.

"Courtesy of Bellatrix Lestrange,"

Lavender looked around at the other girls and saw that instead of looking disgusted or sad, they looked strengthened.

"I guess we better all share now!" Katie said, unbuttoning her jeans.

"God, I'm glad I didn't pull out the ice cream yet!" Lavender said as Katie pulled down her jeans in front of the girls and turned to the side. Down her right buttock, hip and thigh was a bright red, slightly bumpy burn scar. "Nice, right? It get's better!" She turned while lifting her shirt and Lavender heard Padma say, "Merlin!"

The parts of Katie's breasts that could be seen were covered in long thin scars.

"Are those-?" Hermione began and Katie nodded, "Yeah scratch marks. I'm naturally resistant to being tortured but I am rubbish at blocking the Imperius curse. Once Carrow figured that out he would make me scratch myself, usually with my fingernails but sometimes my quill. Once I felt the pain I was usually able to pull out. But he just kept doing it."

They were quiet for a moment when Hermione whispered, "Ron told me about the trial. He and Harry grilled Ginny for over an hour about Carrow. She told him that he never did anything to her. Were the rest of you, um, ok?" She looked from each of them but it was Padma that spoke.

"Carrow is an evil man,"

"Padma, you don't have to," Parvati said, rubbing her back.

Padma shrugged, "Nothing happened, Parvati. I mean, I'm pretty sure what he had planned, but it didn't happen,"

Lavender knew what Carrow almost did to Padma, having heard it second hand from a desperately upset Parvati. She looked at Hermione to see the girl's face was a shade of gray she didn't think could be a skin colour.

"Oh, Padma…" Hermione began but Padma held up her hand.

"It was Snape, in the end. In hindsight I realized the efforts he made to keep the Carrows from us. Once I learned he had been trying to aid in you-know-who's defeat, all the small things he did made sense. This was one of them."

The girls all turned their complete attention to Padma's story. She took a deep breath and began.

"I had gotten detention for being late to his class. I had Muggle studies right before and his sister had kept us behind ranting about what would happen if anyone tried to aid the muggleborn children she had banished to the dungeons. A few of us were late but only I got detention. I figured he'd have Crabbe or Goyle torture me and then I'd be on my way. But there was no one else in his classroom when I came back after dinner." Katie looked like she was about to cry and Lavender grabbed her hand tightly.

"He Imperiused me to remove my top and skirt and made me sit on his desk. I tried to resist it but I was so scared that I couldn't focus. He told me…well it was awful, that's all you need to know. He put his disgusting hand on my leg and I can still smell his rancid breath on my face."

She shuddered, as did the other girls, imagining what that would be like.

"Then?" Hermione asked, seemingly terrified but transfixed by the story.

"Then, nothing. Snape barged into the classroom and told Carrow some students had smashed up his chambers. He said that Carrow could leave me with him and he would punish me with 'the appropriate severity'," she made little quotations in the air, "Carrow ran off and Snape well, he threw my clothes at me and said to get out of his sight."

Even though Lavender had heard the story from Parvati, she felt ill. She also felt ashamed. The last two weeks she had been eschewing the comfort of others, unwilling to believe that they understood what she was feeling. But here was Padma, who did not seem to have any visible scars, but who had also been violated and traumatized from their last year at Hogwarts.

"I am so sorry, Padma," she heard herself say, still in a daze. She got down off the couch and embraced the girl sitting on the floor. Lavender and Padma had always been friendly, but for the first time she really felt bonded to Parvati's twin.

"It's ok. I mean, like I said, he never did anything. But I've been a little shaky since,"

Lavender nodded and rubbed Padma's shoulder. Even though this was not the girl talk Lavender relished from her school days, it felt good. She was starting to feel like a person again.

"Hey, did you say something about ice cream?" Katie asked after several moments of silence.

Lavender shot her an amused smirk. "In the freezer. And grab some spoons while you're at it,"

* * *

"Oof!" Lavender let slip, bumping into the kitchen doorframe.

She heard a gasp and then "Lumos!" Lavender shielded her eyes at the sudden brightness. Hermione was sitting at the table with her hand around a cup of tea and the other clutching her wand.

"Oh, sorry Lavender! Are you ok?" She lowered her wand and Lavender made her way over to the icebox. "Yes, sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. All the crisps before bed was a bad idea."

She pulled a jug of pumpkin juice from the icebox and got herself a glass. When she sat down she noticed Hermione was looking at her curiously.

"What?"

"Where's your wand, Lavender?" It wasn't accusing, just curious. Lavender considered saying she had lost it in battle, but knew she wouldn't be able to pull off the lie. Her brutal honesty was a blessing and a curse sometimes.

"My mum has it," she whispered, not wanting to be overheard.

"Why?" Hermione asked, still peering at her curiously.

"Um, I'm not supposed to do magic right now. My mood swings can be a little…intense."

Hermione frowned but nodded, "Yes, Fleur told me about that,"

"What?" she asked, panicking, "What did Fleur tell you?"

Hermione looked startled. "Um, about Bill, the mood swings. She said the first month was very hard for them,"

"Oh," Lavender hoped that Hermione couldn't see her blushing in the dim light. She had thought Fleur told her about the mistake.

"Um, Lavender?" Hermione asked again, sounded a little more timid.

Lavender sighed, they had had such and nice evening and now Hermione was going to go back to being afraid of her.

"Yes?"

"Are you…ok?"

"What do you mean? Did Bill say something?"

"What would he say?"

"Nothing, just mind your own business, Hermione."

"Sorry," she said, sounding chastened.

"No, I'm sorry. This is what I'm talking about. I get…edgy. And then I snap at people who don't deserve it. You should ask Katie about how poorly I treated her that first week. Well, don't bother actually because I don't think Katie would ever say anything bad about anyone," she smiled and rolled her eyes at Katie's unfailing kindness.

"She had some bad things to say about McLaggin," Hermione offered returning the smile.

"True, but don't we all!"

Hermione chuckled and Lavender could really appreciate how relaxed Hermione had become since they met all those years ago.

"What about you, Hermione? You ok?" Lavender just realized that she had in fact found her drinking tea in the dark.

"Oh? Yes, I'm fine. I have trouble sleeping is all. Ron says…" but she trailed off.

"Hey, you can talk about him. I'm over it. Really." This was mostly true, but the real truth was far too complicated for late night chatter.

"Really?" Hermione looked suspicious. "I mean, did you? Did you love him?"

She furrowed her brow and considered it. She had desired him, but at this moment she really couldn't remember why other than having a thing for gingers.

"No, I don't think so. I mean, I'm just starting to learn how to love people other than myself. No, don't," she said as Hermione made to argue, "I'm serious. My whole life I've only loved people for what they did for me or how they made me feel about myself. Since the attack, I've really only started to appreciate them for who they are. Take Ron,"

"I'm sorry?"

"Well, he came to visit me in the hospital and he apologized and was really great. I think that was the first time I actually appreciated what I had. If I wasn't such a twit back then, well, no, we still would've broken up. Or rather, we never would've gotten together because I would've realized he was yours in the first place!"

She saw Hermione give her a tight smile in the dim light of the kitchen. She tried to cast around for any other subject besides Ron, but fell short. He really was the one thing they had in common. Finally Hermione spoke.

"Listen, Lavender, I know you don't think anyone else understands what you're going through but I do. I mean, we all do. I know it's not exactly the same, but, we're both sitting in the kitchen at two in the morning for a reason."

Lavender nodded, "I'm starting to get that,"

"And, you know…um, well, don't tell anyone this, but I have some really hard days,"

Lavender gripped her hands together in her lap tightly. _She knows._

"Oh?"

"Yes, um, in the last two weeks alone there were two times that I thought about…um…and then before, when we were on our…mission. Well, let's say there were nights that I hoped I would just fall asleep and never wake up."

Lavender felt angry tears well up in her eyes. She couldn't believe that Bill had said something to her. And if she knew then Ron must…

"Please don't tell anyone this, Lavender. Ron would freak out. He would probably think it was his fault." Hermione sounded almost pleading as she twisted her hands together nervously.

"Am I the only one you've told about this?" Lavender couldn't believe it. Sure they were no longer enemies, but they were only now getting to the point of ever being friends.

Hermione shook her head. "They wouldn't understand, not really. I mean, they've always tried to protect me, Harry and Ron. And my parents, I mean, I had to essentially curse them so that I could go off and…"

Lavender's eyes shot open expectantly, hoping to get some insight into where those three had gone off to. "Yes?"

"Nothing. But you know what I mean don't you? That even if you'd never actually do anything, sometimes it might just be nice not to wake up with a constant reminder that your childhood was marred by horror."

Lavender furrowed her brow. _Hermione didn't know. She was just confiding in her._

"I understand, 'Mione, your secret's safe with me. And don't worry about them trying to protect you. They might be heroes, but their still daft boys. You're stronger and smarter than both of them,"

Hermione laughed, "I know!"

Lavender reached out and took the other girl's hand.

"Um, Lavender, did you just call me 'Mione?"

"Yeah, it's a good nickname don't you think?"

She could see the flush burn into Hermione's face, even in the dim light of her wand.

"Um, I suppose. Ron calls me that…sometimes,"

Lavender felt the briefest flash of jealousy as she took in her meaning, but then her desire for the normalcy of mindless banter and gossip won over.

"What?" Hermione said, noticing the amused yet curious expression on Lavender's face.

"Oh, I was just waiting for you to tell me all about it,"

* * *

_A/N 2: I am so dang relieved to be publishing this, you don't even know! I know it was kind of heavy, both in dialog and in subject matter, but I felt like some things needed to be put out there, especially for the sake of the other characters._

_Oh, and I know that Bellatrix does not carve 'Mudblood' into Hermione's arm in the book, but it was a sanctioned addition to the movie by JK Rowling and I like it. So I put it in there. _

_You might be happy to know that while this chapter took forever, I have most of the next story week complete, so you'll be getting the next 6 chapters in some what quick succession starting next week (I'll be out of the country this week and I'm NOT bringing my laptop!)_

_To give you a quick preview, the next chapters are: George, Draco, Dean (yes!), Ginny, Ron and Harry_

_So please follow for updates and please review! Thank you!_


	15. Committed- George

_Author's Note: I'm back! I wrote a lot on my trip but it's much later chapters and some stuff for a companion piece I'm working on. But I have this backlog of chapters so you'll get a fair few this week. _

_I'm excited about this chapter because it's heavy on the older class, which I've always liked more. Enjoy!_

_Oh, and I don't own Harry Potter, obviously. _

* * *

**May 17- Committed**

**George**

_…disappointed, so disappointed, and angry. You are wasting my money too, you git. Go! Get it over with already!_

"I'm going," George muttered to himself, walking down Diagon Alley towards the bright orange storefront. He was secretly grateful that someone had blown the huge mechanical Weasley masthead from the front of the building. He didn't want to see Fred's face until he got inside.

This day had been coming for a while now. He kept telling his parents, brothers and sister that he had been going to the shop. And, technically, he had been going. George would Apparate to the Leaky Cauldron, flirt with Hannah for five to twenty minutes, depending on how busy she was, and then walk down Diagon Alley towards the shop. Every day he got closer and closer, but hadn't yet been able to actually get there. He'd turn back to the Leaky, claim to have forgotten something at home and then wander around Muggle London. Other times he would just visit the shops on Diagon Alley and hear how business was doing after the war.

A few days ago he had decided to bite the bludger by Apparating directly into his flat above the shop. George had barely set foot on the zebra striped carpet that decorated his and Fred's shared living area when he Disapparated away. He wondered if the toenails he splinched off were still up there waiting for him.

But today George had to face it. Angelina and Lee were set to stop by and help him get ready for his re-opening, which he had scheduled for June 2nd, the one month anniversary of Fred's death. George thought that maybe, just maybe, if he honoured his brother with a huge re-opening ceremony, the dreams would finally stop. If you could call them dreams, that is.

In them, Fred would be screaming at him about throwing away all their hard work for something as inconsequential as his death. Fred would go on to say that if he had known George was just going to dally about after his death, he would've stayed behind as a ghost and haunted him to get off his lazy arse and make some damn galleons. Fred's words, not his.

It was now at the point that George would wake from these nightmares and still hear Fred's nonstop diatribe. The ranting was like a constant stream of consciousness, goading him into returning to their shop. Every day George would set out to make the voice stop. And every day he was forced a little closer before Fred would quiet down. He knew now that Fred was not going to leave him alone until he went through with it.

George was standing on the front step, squinting in the bright morning light as he stared at the door of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Fred was still with him, muttering at the back of his brain.

_…need to grow some bollocks and get back in there you lazy prat. I would've already been selling commemorative busts of you had the tables been turned…_

He held his breath, pointed his wand at the door and opened it.

The shop looked very tidy, but it was also very bare. He knew that Ron had been by several times to help clean up and restock, but several shelves remained empty of merchandise that had been sold out, destroyed or stolen. The walls were bare; only faded squares of paint hinting at the framed photos of Fred and George Weasley that once hung around the store. Fred's incessant complaining stopped. George exhaled. _It was going to be okay._

George walked around, turning the lights on with his wand and scourgifying any areas Ron had missed. On the counter was a large stack of parchment that said 'Inventory'. He flipped through the surprisingly extensive list of merchandise, thinking he would remember to throw Ron some galleons for the work he'd done. Next to the inventory was a note. It was also from Ron.

_George-_

_Photos are in the storeroom, thought you could decide best where they go. _

_R_

George didn't think he could deal with that today. Today was about restocking, fixing the front and thinking up some new merchandise for the opening. Lee had offered to plug the re-opening on his radio show, so they were going to talk about that as well. He was beginning to wish he hadn't gotten here so early. Being alone in this shop was more than he could take. He looked at his watch; he had thirty minutes before Angelina and Lee were expected, so more like an hour if he knew his best friends at all.

George turned on the spot and popped back into the Leaky causing Hannah to shriek in surprise.

"Blimey, George! Don't do that! We have an Apparition room for a reason you know!" She was now cleaning up a spilled tea with her wand.

"Sorry, love, just couldn't wait to see you is all." He gave her a devilish grin and Hannah rolled her eyes.

"You just saw me," she furrowed her brow, "you aren't leaving again today, are you? I thought you said Angelina and Lee were meeting you."

He nodded and served himself a coffee. She didn't stop him, seeing as he was the only person in the pub.

"They are, but not for a bit. Ron actually did all my work for me so now I have some time to kill. Lucky you," he said, waggling his eyebrows at her suggestively.

"Lucky me," she smirked, remaking her tea.

"Listen, when are you going to ditch MacMillan, anyway? He's a pompous prat and you're so…" He let his fingers walk towards her across the bar.

She snorted, "What am I, George?"

"Sassy!" he teased, letting his finger trace Hannah's knuckle before she pulled her hand away.

"Well, be that as it may, I am still with Ernie, for now."

"Oooh, for now? Trouble in paradise?"

She sighed and had a seat at one of the empty tables. "If you must know, yes, there is. He's been very distant since I've started training to take over this place. I don't know if we'll be able to work through it."

"A shame, a shame!" George wailed, sarcastically, taking the seat next to her at the table. "So why don't you let me take you out? Just as friends, of course, don't want to taint your honor," He held up his hand as if swearing an oath.

"As friends? Yeah, right! We can barely have a drink without you getting all…" she watched as he brought a leg around his chair to rub it against her bare calf. "That," she said, shifting away from him.

"What? Oh I'm just playing Hannah, loosen up! You know I think you're a choice bird, but I'm not trying to tread in choppy water." He gave her a wide grin and was pleased when she couldn't help but return it.

"Honestly, George, give it a rest! I enjoy the flattery, but you know this would never work." She got up and began lifting chairs off the other tables; seeing as the morning rush was due to begin in a half hour.

"And what makes you say that?" he asked, grasping her wand delicately between his fingers and causing the chair she was levitating to fall to the ground. "_Reparo_!" she shouted at the chair and then, "Well, we're just too different, is all. Plus," she added, when he went to argue, "I always thought you had a thing for Angelina,"

He paused, _surely not_.

"You must be confusing me with Fred, darling. He's the one that dated her."

"I know that. But I've also seen you together. There's something there, but I think you're denying it."

He felt the cursed Weasley flush creeping up his neck but shook his head, laughing at the insinuation. "I don't think so! We're just best mates, is all!"

"Right, and Ernie and I were just best mates for seven years. Ron and Hermione, best mates for seven years. How long have you and Angelina been best mates? Seven years?"

"Oh, hogwash," he said, though secretly he felt his chest tense at the thought of it. _Did he have feelings for her again?_

George had fancied Angelina for two years, as had Fred, but they both knew who won that race. Then he had started dating Emma and fell back into a comfortable friendship with Angelina. After Emma ditched him, the Muggle Liason Department had gotten involved and he had quite a hard time of it. Angelina had been there for him then, and when Ginny had started dating Harry, when Bill got attacked, when Ron went off with Harry and Hermione to Merlin-Knows-Where, and when Fred died. She had been there through all of it.

"Right, well, nice chat, but you're barking. I better run anyway, tell Macmillan I said," he made a rude hand gesture that Hannah couldn't help but laugh at. George thought she was a real peach, but what she had said about Angelina stuck with him.

"Good luck today," she called as he waved to her through the back room that led to Diagon Alley.

* * *

"How about, 'Come on down to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes! Where the joke's on us!'?" Lee suggested.

"That's total shite," Angelina said, plopping down next to them on the carpeted floor of the shop, with three butterbeers in hand.

"Oh, you are a prize, isn't she George? You have a sandwich for me too?" teased Lee; deftly dodging the foot she struck out at him. George forced a laugh. _Yes Angelina was a prize. Why had it taken flirting with another girl for him to see it?_

"Hello? Come in George Weasley?"

"What? Yeah, a real doll,"

"What? No, I asked you if you wanted to make a big sign for the day? We could enchant it to show different products in action," Lee was hastily sketching on a piece of parchment covered in notes for the promotion of the store.

"Hmm? Yeah, maybe. Listen, I need to get started on this storefront before it gets dark. You wanna help?"

Angelina said, "Sure!" while Lee replied, "Not really."

"Why the hell not?" George asked Lee.

Lee shrugged, "I'm not really the sort. I'd rather stay in here and invent! Let you two have some time alone." George did not like the suggestive way Lee had said that, nor the way he was looking pointedly at the two of them.

"Shut it, prat. C'mon George, Lee just wants us to leave so he can work on his letter to _Lavender_!"

"What? Lavender Brown? Really mate, taking ickle Ronnie's leavings?" George teased, a huge grin forming at this news.

"Ugh, you twat! You said you wouldn't tell him!" Lee yelled, throwing a headless hat at her, which she lazily deterred with a flick of her wand.

"Yeah well that was before you started insinuating things about me and George!" She shot back, gesticulating with her wand and accidentally knocking a few things off a shelf.

"Well I only said that because you said-"

But he was cut off by the wand she had pointed at his face, "Don't. You. Dare."

"Not saying nothin'," he conceded, hands up in surrender. "Better go work on that letter."

He scurried off to the back room and once the door was closed George turned to Angelina and asked, "Is he really chatting up Lavender Brown?"

Angelina shrugged. "I know they've been writing to each other. Katie told me that Lavender is basically confined to the house these days. Reckon she just wanted some pen friends. Lee's gone 'round the twist for her though."

George smiled. He really loved Angelina. _Shite, what did I just say, er, think? Relax, you love her, like a sister. _He thought of Ginny. _Nope, not like a sister._

"Isn't Lavender…? I mean, she looked pretty bad…"

Angelina gave him a threatening look and he too backpedaled, knowing full well that she was not a witch to be messed with. "I'm not saying looks are everything!"

"Clearly," she said, flicking him in the head above his exposed ear canal and stalking out the door.

In lieu of the mechanical masthead, George opted for a large 'W' that randomly shot small Whizz-Bangs off when people passed by. Once he and Angelina had it permanently stuck above the door, they began tidying up around the outside.

"So what didn't you want Lee to tell me?" George asked after several minutes of silence.

"Forget it," Angelina mumbled, not looking at him.

"You know I won't. Was it about me? Was it about how sexy you find me?" he teased, flexing his biceps like a bodybuilder.

"Something like that," she said, nonchalantly causing him to stop goofing off.

"Really?"

Angelina let out an exasperated sigh. "Well, not exactly. If you must know Lee was teasing me about only being friends with people who fancy me."

"Fair point," he offered.

"That's not a fair point! I have lots of friends that have never fancied me!"

George held out a hand and started counting, "Fred, Lee, myself, Oliver, Alicia…"

"And? Who else then? Katie never fancied me! Harry doesn't fancy me!"

"I bet you're wrong on both counts. I bet Katie has fancied you, at least at some point, saucy little minx…"

He trailed off, looking into the distance with glassy eyes. Angelina hit him yelling, "Will you stop," she hit him again, "fantasizing about me and Katie?!"

"Sorry! Sorry!"

But then he gazed dreamily again down the alley. "Or Alicia!"

"C'mon! But you actually did shag Alicia!"

"I don't see why that's relevant," she said, her hands on her hips.

"Alright, so what's the big deal then? I thought you were going to hex Lee's bollocks off in there!"

"Because," she said through gritted teeth as she repaired an overlooked window, "I mentioned that I didn't think you would fancy me anymore."

George's interest was piqued.

"And why is that?"

"I just figured I'd remind you too much of Fred."

George felt his smile fade. He placed a hand on her shoulder and said quietly, "You do remind me of Fred, but it's not in a bad way. Hell, everything reminds me of Fred, even my own reflection." They both turned to look at it in the newly repaired glass.

"So, you do fancy me then?" she asked, innocently.

He shrugged. "I haven't really thought about it in a while, to be honest. I mean, I always figured you'd never go for me after Fred. Why trade in for the same model?" he joked.

"You aren't just Fred two, George. I don't know how often I have to tell you that."

"How can you look at me and not see him?" he asked her, seriously, pulling his eyes away from his own reflection to look at her.

She was quiet for a moment but then said defiantly, "Name a time when I got you two confused."

"What?"

"Can you? Can you name a time?"

"Not off the top of my head," he admitted.

"That's because I could always tell you both apart. You've always been different to me. You've always been the quiet scheming one, while he was always putting on a show. Your smile pulls to the left while his pulled to the right. You always called me Ange and he always called me-"

"Angie" George finished, remembering.

"So, yeah, of course you remind me of him, but you aren't him. Dating you would not be like dating him." He noticed her cheeks become rosy as she looked away.

"Is that your way of saying you want to date me?" he asked, looking away from her now with the excuse of resealing the basement grate.

"Do you want to date me?" she replied, quickly.

"I dunno. D'you reckon it'd be weird?"

"I dunno."

They were silent for a few moments, both halfheartedly tidying. George could hear Fred muttering in his subconscious but ignored him.

_…I can't believe you...love of my life…_

"So, do you wanna find out? We could….go to dinner?" He pulled a grimace at the idea.

"You make it sound so painful!" she teased.

"Well, I was going to say shag but I'm trying to be a gentleman here!" he teased back.

She scoffed, "George Weasley! I am a lady! Dinner first, then shagging!"

"That's not what Alicia told me," he muttered and she punched him hard.

"Sorry! Couldn't resist! So, Friday then? Le Cheval du Vol?"

_…oh you slick git…_

George smirked at the voice while Angelina looked impressed. "Fancy."

"Yeah, well, if it's going to be awkward at least we'll get a good meal out of it."

"Ok then, Friday. It's a, uh, date."

"Cool," he said, flushing warmly in that typical Weasley way.

They stood there looking at each other dumbly until they heard a screeching laugh from the upper floor window. "You both owe me 5 galleons! So predictable!"

"Shut it!" they said at the same time. Then looked at each other with amused expressions.

"Why do you owe Lee 5 galleons?" George asked.

"Why do you owe him 5 galleons?" she replied.

"Oh, I'll never tell," he said, reaching out to run a long finger under her dark brown cheek, which felt hot to his touch.

"Well, neither will I," she said, turning suddenly and grabbing his finger between her teeth. His entire face, head, neck and solitary ear were almost maroon from his traitorous blush. She laughed at the sight, releasing him and walking back to the front door.

"You know," he said, following her back into the shop, trying to keep his voice casual, "I rather think I do fancy you."

"That's why we're friends," she replied, sauntering into the back room.

* * *

"I don't know why you are so mad," George said aloud, cataloging the new merchandise that he and Lee had created that afternoon.

_...my ex-girlfriend! Not fair! Your choice of anyone and you want her! _

George sighed and rubbed his face. It had been a long day and now he was walking around having a conversation with the voice of his dead twin brother. This was not healthy.

"First of all, you are not real. You are my imagination. Second of all, even if you were real, you have no say in whom I date, as you are dead. Third of all, _you_ broke up with _her_. So shut up and mind your own business!"

_Not real!? Some brother you are! Well, fine go ahead and date her then but you better not break her heart. I swear I'll figure out how to haunt you then._

"Fair enough!" George laughed, but then shook his head feeling on the verge of insanity. He heard the bell ring in the front of the store and shouted, "We're closed!" When it didn't ring to signal the person leaving he trudged out of the back, still holding 20 new Fanged Frisbees.

"Oi! I said we're closed!" he shouted and the man looked up. "Seamus?" he said, recognizing the freckly youth.

"Hiya George. Sorry t'be barging in and all but I heard through the grapevine that yeh might be hiring?"

George guessed the grapevine was probably Katie via Angelina. "So what if I am? You got any experience?"

Seamus shrugged, "Dunno. I mean, I can carry things, and count, and kill Death Eaters. What else yeh need t' know?"

George couldn't resist a laugh. "You're funny, that helps."

He noticed that Seamus kept fidgeting with his pocket and looked a little clammy. "You, er, alright there, Finnegan?"

"Wha? Yeah, just ah, looking for some work, is all."

"Okay…well, we are planning to open on June 2nd. I can offer you part-time for the moment. And if you can start next week with set up I can give you some more hours."

"Really? Ah man, that is so brilliant!"

"I haven't even told you how much it pays!"

Seamus blushed and stammered, "Ah, er, doesn't really matter, exactly, um…"

George furrowed his brow at Seamus. _Something was up. _"What the hell is going on, Finnegan?"

Seamus exhaled and then rushed towards George so quickly that he took a few steps back.

"Alrigh', I'll tell yeh but you have t' promise not t' tell anyone, especially not Katie! Or Angelina for that matter!"

"Um, okay," he said, though he was holding out judgment until he found out what was actually going on. If Seamus Finnegan was messing Katie about he would not be keeping that quiet. And he'd be throwing punches.

"Well?" he said, when Seamus didn't speak. In response Seamus pulled a small box out of the pocket he'd been messing with and opened it. George dropped all the Frisbees on the ground.

"Is that, what I think it is?"

"Well, if yeh think it's the dumbest feckin' thing I've ever purchased, then you'd be correct." Seamus began pacing now, leaving the ring gleaming on the table. George was actually too shocked to laugh at how stupid this was.

"But is it, for Katie?"

"Of course 'tis! Well, at least it was, but I dunno. I dunno if I should. I mean, I want t' but not yet, yeh know? I went in there as a laugh. Going t' get her a necklace or something. Then I saw that stupid ring and it was jus' perfect. I put it on hold, trying t' be more '_level-headed_'" His voice was slightly sarcastic as he made quotations and George guessed this was something he got criticised for by Katie. "So, Friday I left the Leaky and well, I was a bit pissed wasn't I? I walked past the shop and it was still open and, well, I bought it."

Seamus finally stopped pacing and looked at George, defeated.

"_How?_ That thing looks like it was-"

"400 galleons," Seamus groaned, covering his face with his hands.

"Bollocks!"

"I know! I bought the bleedin' thing on credit too! So who knows how much it'll cost in the end! I went in there today, tried t' return it, but the bastard wouldn't have it. Just pointed t' the 'No Returns' sign and sent me on me way!"

"I see." Seamus' desperation for a job finally made sense. "Listen, here's what I'll do for you. I can give you 25 hours a week until Ron starts, then I'll have to bump you down to 15, unless we need the help. If you stay for a month, well, I'll buy your credit."

"What? You'd do that?"

"Yes, but only to take some pressure off. I won't charge you interest but you have to pay me every week or I will pawn that damn thing."

Seamus looked so visibly relieved that George couldn't help but laugh now. He shook his head.

"What are you fifteen? What are you doing buying a ring like that for Katie Bell?"

"I'm almost nineteen, I'll have yeh know. And why? Yeh don't think she'll like it?" He looked nervous again and George didn't have the heart to let him sweat anymore.

"Are you kidding me? She'll definitely say yes, one look at that thing. Hell, I almost said yes when you opened it!" he jibed.

Seamus let out a quick laugh. "Well, good, great. S'all coming together today."

"Oh yeah? Got the job of your dreams to pay off a stupid bloody engagement ring and…?"

"Oh, I was looking at some storefronts, for Katie and me."

"For Katie and you, what?"

"Oh, thought maybe yeh knew. Can't tell anything t' Katie without Angelina knowing it."

George shook his head, still confused and Seamus continued. "We're going t' buy one a' the busted up shops to fix up and put in a Quidditch store." he said simply but George was utterly flummoxed.

"Ok, I'm definitely out of the loop. How can you afford to buy a shop but not a ring? I would think the shop would cost more."

"Yeah, it does. It's tricky. My dad's parents, they're Muggles, yeah? Well they set up a fund for me t' go t' University when I was just a baby. But when I told me mam about opening the shop, she said I could use the money for that. But only for that."

"I see. So I take it your mum does not know you are the proud owner of a 400 galleon engagement ring?"

"Definitely not. She'd go ballistic. So'd dad. Hell, so'd Katie. Promise you won't tell, yeah?"

George crossed his heart, "I'm not telling anyone. If I'm going to support this little scheme, I certainly don't want it getting out before I get a return, you hear me?"

Seamus nodded solemnly.

"Brilliant. Well, if you don't mind, I have a date with Miss Abbott."

"Really, you're dating Hannah?" Seamus asked, collecting his ring from the counter and placing it back in his pocket.

"No, no, it's not like that. I'm hungry, and I think Hannah has some crow for me to eat."

He pushed a confused looking Seamus back out into the street and turning as he walked away said, "When it comes to women, Finnegan, they always know more about this love shite than we do, remember that!"

* * *

A/N 2: If you are wondering about the whole Alicia/Angelina thing, feel free to read my drabble about them in "Young Love". It will give you some insight into their history in my HP universe.

If you are thinking of leaving a review, thank you in advance! Also here's a question for you: Do you think Fred's voice is just a figment of George's subconscious or is it some sort of twin magic? I'll (probably) never tell but I'd love to hear what people think about that.

Also, tomorrow (both in the story and IRL!) is a Draco chapter. See ya then!


	16. Purified- Draco

_Author's Note: Well, that took longer than I thought, but here's the next chapter._

_I haven't received any hate mail lately so I figured it was time to check in on Draco! I will 100% stand by my characterization of Draco Malfoy and I am happy to discuss my choices for the character, but insults are unnecessary folks. It won't change the story and they will be deleted._

_Sorry, for the harsh AN, but it had to be said! Please enjoy!_

* * *

**May 18- Purified**

**Draco**

_A,_

_You said that if I ever had a change of heart I should come see you. I'm not able to visit at the moment for reasons I cannot explain in a letter, but I would very much like to see you or at least correspond in some way. _

_I was glad to read in the Prophet that your father is alive. I hope you are well. _

_Please visit or write soon._

_The address is 12 Grimmauld Place._

_Yours,_

_D_

Draco was about to roll the parchment but stopped as the address disappeared from the paper. He wrote it again but even as he was still writing he could see the ink start to disappear. Thinking that maybe he grabbed a bottle of Disappearing-Reappearing ink, he pushed himself up from the grimy kitchen table and trudged back into the drawing room. He made his way over to the writing desk but then stopped suddenly, the blood draining from his face and his stomach clenching into a knot. He felt tears sting his eyes and tried to scream but it stuck in his throat. There, lying on the ground before him, was his mother. Blood was pooling out of large bite wounds at her throat, chest, stomach and thigh.

"Mum?" he finally managed to croak, too scared to approach the pale limp form before him. She did not reply and he had not expected her to. Her chalky skin denoted that she had been quite dead for some time.

"Mum!" he screamed, "Mum, no!" He began sobbing and felt bile in the back of his throat.

Through his choked sobs he could hear her voice, a distant memory. "What Draco? I was in the kitch-"

"Mum!" he screamed again, pressing his hands over his ears to push away the voice he'd never hear again.

"_Riddikulous_!" Draco jumped at the spell, which was shouted from behind him. He spun around to see his mother there as well. This mother was very much alive and pointing her wand at…

Draco looked behind him. His mother's dead body was gone and was replaced with his own. It now looked as if he had been attacked by a giant snake, instead of her. The same snake he had heard for months in the night, hissing as it slithered from room to room in Malfoy Manor.

"_Riddikulous_!" Draco heard her sob again and he looked round to see her still holding her wand out, arm shaking.

He pulled his own wand from his robes and pointed it at, well, himself, lying on the ground.

Draco watched as the form changed back to his mother and he shouted "_Riddikulous_!" The figure changed so that instead of his mother's lifeless form lying in her own blood, she was lying in a sea of pygmy puffs.

He heard a snort behind him and turned to see his mother laughing.

"Are those puffskeins?" she sniffed, wiping an errant tear from her eye.

"Yes I suppose they are," he said, smiling with relief at being able to speak to her.

They both laughed when one of the tiny furry creatures bounced on his boggart-mother's nose and the boggart exploded into a puff of black smoke.

"Draco, darling," she said, running to him and pulling him into a tight embrace.

He returned it, rubbing his face into her careworn robes, relishing the scent of her, the warmth of her body.

"This house is trying to kill us," he mumbled into her shoulder.

She released him and sighed.

"I know. It's days like today that I think I might prefer Azkaban!"

"Why, what happened to you?" he said, furrowing his brow and taking in her rather bedraggled appearance.

"Doxies, is what happened to me. They are all over the house and they've eaten through all my robes. And of course I can't leave the house to purchase more or even buy some doxycide!" She huffed and patted her robes down, releasing a large amount of dust into the already dingy room.

"I need to speak with Potter about this. Just yesterday I was poking around and I got bitten by that idiotic book Hagrid set on us. That Monster book! We need a damn house elf!"

She pursed her lips at him, "Do you think you can get him to loan us Kreacher?"

Draco frowned, "No. But maybe I can get him to run to the shop at least. Get us some supplies. Hell I'll clean the damn place myself!"

His mother laughed again, "Oh darling, I do love you, but you are too much sometimes. Call on Potter, and if he is resistant to help let me speak with him. Maybe I can remind him of my contribution to the Dark Lord's defeat."

Draco nodded, then he turned and pointed his wand at the sofa.

"_Scourgify_!" he shouted and watched as half the dust came off the top of it. "_Scourgify_ dammit!" he said again. This time more of the dust came off as did a button. "Ah bugger! _Reparo_!" The button returned, as did the dust.

Draco groaned and stomped off to the floo.

He threw some of the orange powder in, crouched down and shouted "The Burrow!" He then placed his head in the flames and waited until the Weasley sitting room came into view. In it sat two of his least favorite people; Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. They looked to be cuddling on the couch and talking. "I need to speak to Potter!" he said commandingly, causing Hermione to scream and Ron to pull his wand. He was impressed at Weasley's reflexes, though he was loath to admit it.

"Malfoy?" he sneered at the fire.

"Yes. Potter gave me leave to call on him in an emergency. I need to speak with him now."

"Erm, he's not here," Ron shrugged, looking slightly amused at Draco's hovering head in his fireplace.

"Well, where is he?! This is urgent!"

"He's...working," said Hermione, looking curious. "What's wrong, Draco?"

"This house is what's wrong! It's falling apart! Doxies and Boggarts everywhere you turn! And no matter what spells I use nothing is getting any cleaner!" He grimaced as his legs started to cramp on the other side of the fire. "I have to go! Just tell Potter to contact me immediately!" and with that he pulled his head out of the flames and sat back on the floor at Grimmauld Place.

He was still sitting there when a few minutes later a bushy haired Hermione spun into view, followed by the spinning red top of Ron.

"What are you two doing here?" he sneered, jumping to his feet but almost falling from his sore legs.

"We've come to help you," Hermione said, plainly. "When Sirius first moved back in here it looked, well," she paused, looking around, "It looked sort of like this."

"Fucking hell, Malfoy, how'd you let it get like this?!" Ron moaned, looking at the massive cobwebs draping like shawls form the woodwork and the dust bunnies hopping across the floor.

"I told you! The house is against us! No matter how much we try to clean it doesn't do any good!"

"Hmmm," Hermione said, pulling her wand and walking over to a large cobweb, "_Eradicate!"_ she shouted. The web bounced slightly but did not disappear. "_Tergio! Scourgify!_ Oh buggering hell!" she yelled then added, "Shut it Ronald," when he released a snicker at her swear.

Draco felt vilified. If Hermione 'the Muggle-Born-Wonder' Granger couldn't manage it, then no one was likely to.

"The house does seem to be resistant to tidying up. I wonder…"

"What?" both Draco and Ron asked at the same time, looking at each other with matching disdain.

"Um, Kreacher?"

Instantly there was a _Crack!_ and Kreacher the house elf appeared in a crisp brown toga with a yellow H on it.

Draco was hopeful that this meant the elf would take care of everything but it only took a moment before reality hit.

"Miss Granger," the elf said, bowing, "Mr. Weasley, Mr. Mahhh," Kreacher went to address Draco but then slammed his mouth shut and covered it with his hand.

"Oh, I bet Harry told Kreacher he wasn't allowed to talk to you," Hermione said as they all watched the elf puzzlingly.

"Brilliant," Draco spat.

"Um, Kreacher, can I ask you a question?" Hermione started, walking slowly towards the elf.

"Yes, Miss Granger, Master's muggleborn friend." He bowed his head slightly, though kept glancing at Draco warily.

"Kreacher, I'm trying to get rid of these cobwebs but they won't seem to budge. Can you tell me what you use?"

Kreacher's face lit up. "Kreacher can do it!" He snapped his fingers and the cobwebs were gone.

"You've got to be fuc-" but Draco's swear was cut off by the murderous glare Ron was giving him. Draco couldn't believe that he wasn't even allowed to show a house elf disdain around these self-righteous prats.

"That was brilliant, Kreacher, thank you," Hermione said and the elf bowed happily.

"Is no trouble, Miss. Is Master wanting me to clean up? This old house is looking a mess!" Kreacher said, seemingly overjoyed by the state of things.

"Kreacher," Ron started, looking suspicious, "why is it that we can't clean the house?"

"You's not be needing to clean the house Mr. Weasley. Kreacher can be doing it for you!"

"No, that's ok Kreacher, Harry doesn't want you to clean this house right now," said Hermione, keeping her voice surprisingly gentle while speaking to the lowly servant. "What we do want to know is why the house is falling into disrepair."

Kreacher looked around shiftily and Ron warned, "Kreacher…"

Suddenly Kreacher ran at the wall and knocked himself into it.

"Kreacher, no!"

Draco snorted with laughter as the elf began punching himself in the face.

"Sod off Malfoy!" Ron shouted, lifting the elf off the floor under his arms. "We don't have to help you at all so shut it before I hex you!"

"Kreacher, please!" Hermione shouted, grasping the elf's flailing hands. Draco recoiled at the sight. "Kreacher stop hurting yourself and just tell us. You won't be punished!"

Kreacher finally stopped struggling and Hermione released him. The elf sat on the floor defeatedly and wailed, "Master is wanting to free Kreacher! Kreacher knows it! Master is wanting to free Kreacher and have him work for money at Hogwarts!"

"Um, I don't think so," Ron said, looking confused.

Kreacher sniffed, looking up at him with protruberant eyes, "But, Master is not wanting Kreacher to clean the Black house anymore. Master sent Kreacher away, so then Kreacher makes it so Master's house can only be cleaned by him."

Kreacher eyed the fireplace poker and Ron cut across his thought, "Kreacher I know Harry has forbidden you to hurt yourself so don't even think about it!"

"Wait," Draco said, finally understanding what the elf had done, "Are you telling me that elf has made this house impossible to clean by anyone but him?"

"I think so," Hermione said, looking at Kreacher, who was now crouching behind Ron. "Kreacher, is this some sort of charm you casted?"

Kreacher nodded, "Is elf magic Miss. Makes our Masters and Mistresses not want to free us, if they's can't take care of their own."

"That is twisted," Hermione said and both Ron and Draco rolled their eyes. Draco smirked.

"So, can you lift this charm, Kreacher?" Hermione asked.

Kreacher nodded. "But I's not wanting to be freed, Miss. Kreacher can be cleaning both at Hogwarts and here. Kreacher can do the Burrow too, if Mr. Weasley's wanting it cleaned."

"Great, it's settled then," Draco said, crossing his arms, "If the elf wants to clean the place, let him clean it."

"Kreacher is not talking to any Malfoys, no no! You's be seeing it, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger. Kreacher is obeying his Master and is not talking to any Malfoys!" the elf yelled, his hands over his ears.

"Oh for Merlin's sake!" Draco said, exasperated with the whole situation.

"Kreacher, Harry isn't planning to free you, but he doesn't want you to clean Grimmauld place right now. Maybe we can find you another place to clean. I promise I'll tell him you want more work, if you lift the charm making Grimmauld Place uncleanable."

Kreacher peered at Hermione, looking as thought he was trying to figure out if this was a trick.

"And, pardon my asking Miss, but you won't be hiding any clothes on Kreacher?"

Ron barked a laugh. "He's on to you Hermione!"

She just sighed heavily and shook her head. "No, I promise, no one is going to free you, Kreacher."

The elf looked up at the young wizards surrounding him, even glancing briefly at Draco. "It is done," he said, resignedly.

"What?" Draco said, "But he didn't even do anything!"

Hermione pointed her wand down the hallway and said "_Tergio_!" The dust disappeared instantly. Then she said "_Scourgify!_" and the floor gleamed as if it were brand new.

"Very nice, Miss Granger!" Kreacher said. "Kreacher can be doing it, quicker!"

She gave the elf a pained smiled and said, "No, that's ok Kreacher. I think you can go back to Hogwarts now. I'll have Harry call on you soon, ok?"

Then elf said nothing but bowed then Disapparated with a loud crack.

"I can't believe it," Ron said dragging his finger along the inch of dust that sat on the mantle. "Elves are so strange."

"Great, so now this place is cleanable again, but not by the elf that wants to do it!" Draco whined, annoyed that his excuse for not doing chores was gone.

"Here," Hermione said, rummaging around in a small bag. She pulled out a few books as well as what looked like ingredients for a potion.

"What's all this?" Draco asked, taking the items from her.

"Those are the books we used when we cleaned this place the first time. And those are to make a few of the potions the books call for to remove some of the more stubborn household pests."

Draco sighed resignedly at the stack of books and supplies he had been burdened with.

"You're welcome," Ron said sarcastically, heading towards the fireplace, "Guess we'll let you get to it. C'mon Hermione."

"What about the boggarts?" Draco called, more to Hermione than to Ron.

She turned and looked at him with a surprisingly hard look. "What about them?"

"Well, I don't know how many more there are."

"You know the spell," she said, looking away from him.

"Yeah, but I thought, maybe you knew something…better," he said the last word through gritted teeth. He hated admitting that Hermione knew more than him.

She shook her head. "No, just keep this place clean and open everything up now and again. They like dark dirty places."

"Right, well…," he trailed off, not able to say "Thank you", even if he was grateful for their help.

"I'll let Harry know what happened and that you wish to speak to him," Hermione said, turning back to the fireplace where Ron was now throwing Floo Powder.

Ron was about to step in when Draco threw caution to the wind and shouted, "Wait!"

They both turned and looked at him.

"There's one more thing," he said.

Ron groaned, but Hermione said, "It's fine, I got it Ron, go ahead."

"Are you sure?" Ron looked suspiciously at Draco and he felt an urge to spit in the tall ginger's face.

"Yes, I'm sure. If I'm not back in what? Ten minutes? You can come get me."

Ron glared warningly at Draco once more before stepping into the green flames and spinning out of sight.

"What do you want, Draco?" she said, turning to him with arms crossed.

Draco reached into his pocket and pulled out the letter he had written earlier. "Look what happens when I write on this letter," he said, directing her into the drawing room.

She had her eyes raised in curiosity as he spread the parchment out and began to write.

_The address is 12 Grimmauld Place_.

Just like that, the address disappeared from the parchment.

"Did you see that?"

"Yes," she said, not seeming surprised by what had happened.

"Why is that happening? I should be allowed mail but I don't know how I'm bloody well supposed to get any if the address to this hellhole keeps disappearing!"

She sighed, "It's obvious, isn't it? This place is under the Fidelius Charm. You are not the secret keeper so you can't give the location to anyone else."

Now that she said it Draco realized it was obvious. He felt like a dolt for not just keeping his mouth shut.

"So, the only way I can get any mail is if Potter gives that person the address?" he asked, incredulous. _This prat really had him by the short hairs._

Hermione flushed slightly as her eyes darted away from the letter. Draco pressed his lips together, holding back the vitrile he wanted to spew at her.

"Actually Harry isn't secret keeper of Grimmauld Place anymore. It was too risky. Plus, I'm better at charms than he is."

"_You're_ the secret keeper?" _This day is getting worse and worse_.

"Yes."

"So can you write the address? Please?" he added, hoping she might be persuaded by his effort at civility.

When Hermione didn't answer him he looked around at her. His annoyance turned to horror when he saw his dead Aunt Bellatrix creeping towards Hermione holding a long thin knife. Even though Draco knew it must be another boggart, he was also afraid. When she was alive his aunt's insanity and violent nature had always frightened him.

"Granger?" he whispered, still frozen to the spot. _Surely she can handle this..._

"You-you're not real. I'm imagining this. You're not REAL!" she screamed the last word, seemingly unaware of Draco's presence in the room. She was wracked with sobs now, her wand arm outstretched but shaking.

"Granger! It's, it's just a boggart!" Draco yelled, though he felt unable to assist in any way. He didn't quite fancy seeing it turn back into his dead mother.

"R-rid-iculous!" she stammered, but nothing happened. The boggart Bellatrix was jabbing her knife at the air between it and Hermione.

Draco was steeling himself, knowing he would have to do something. Hermione had backed into the desk now and her repeated attempts at using the boggart-banishing spell were ineffective. Just as he took the tiniest step forward there was a loud _Crack!_ and Kreacher reappeared in the room.

The decrepit elf pushed a long bony hand towards the window and it opened. Then he stamped his foot against the floor and Draco watched, amazed, as the boggart form of his aunt was sucked out of the window, which then slammed shut with a bang.

"Is Miss Granger well?" Kreacher asked, bobbing quickly over to where Hermione still stood, wand out, shaking violently.

"Yeah-yes, I'm alright Kreacher, thank you."

"It's no trouble, Miss Granger. Kreacher is following orders, keeping Master's friends safe. Kreacher can be getting rid of all the boggarts!" The elf pulled a face that Draco guessed must've been something of a smile.

"There are more boggarts?" Draco asked, causing both Hermione and Kreacher to turn quickly. He took a step back at their twin glares.

"Kreacher is not talking to no Malfoys!" Kreacher said, looking at the ground and shaking his head violently.

"Kreacher, it's alright," Hermione said, lowering herself unsteadily to the floor and placing a hand on Kreacher's wrinkly shoulder. "Thank you for helping me, but I'm going home now. You can go."

The elf gave Hermione a tiny bow of the head, glanced at Draco fearfully and then Disapparated again.

Draco watched as Hermione took a deep breath, stood up and smoothed down her clothes. Then she turned and quickly walked past him without acknowledgement.

"Granger, wait! Hermione!" he yelled as she grabbed a handful of Floo Powder.

She turned and glared at him. Draco noticed her eyes were still wet and he found himself at a loss for words. Hermione gave him an impatient looked and then huffed. He pulled the letter from inside his robes and held it up.

"Could you? Please?" he said, as nicely as he could. Draco couldn't apologize or thank her and he felt disgusted about it.

She exhaled heavily through her nose and snatched the rolled up parchment from him, tucking it into her bag.

"Fine, but in return you have to clean this place up!"

He nodded, relieved at the opportunity to talk to someone from the outside world.

"You have to tell me who to send it to though," she said still harsh.

"Oh, um Astoria...Astoria Greengrass," he said, looking at his shoes.

"Greengrass? Isn't that Daphne's sister?" she said, her unending curiosity coming back.

He nodded.

"Are you two…?" she began and he felt himself flush.

"We're friends, is all," he said coldly and then with a quick, "Goodbye," he turned on his heel and walked away from her.

* * *

"Mother!" he called, coming downstairs after successfully cleaning up his room and exterminating some bundimuns he found at the back of his closet. He had spent the afternoon mixing the cleaning potions and the doxycide from the recipes in Hermione's books and was actually keen to test them out in a few days, once they were finished brewing. Draco felt a sense of accomplishment, of progress, after weeks of constant boredom. Even doing something as tedious as cleaning was a refreshing change from sitting around reading book after book about pureblood wizards. Briefly he thought about asking Granger to borrow some different books, but the idea of asking her for anything else after today, well, it just wasn't an option.

"Mother!" he shouted again, popping his head into the kitchen. She wasn't there. It wasn't a big house, not compared to Malfoy Manor, where you could easily lose someone for several hours. He kept looking for her. Draco thought he should miss his home, but he didn't. In fact, he never wanted to go back there again, after the past year. He wondered what would happen when his father got out of Azkaban. Draco knew he would not permit his family to remain in Grimmauld Place, not that Draco fancied staying here any longer than he had to. Yet the idea of being back in the place where the Dark Lord had slept, had lived, had killed, well, he couldn't bear it.

Draco walked past the bathroom now and heard the shower running. He exhaled, relieved that his mother had not been eaten by a hoard of doxies or some other terrible creatures. He headed back to the kitchen and made about fixing dinner.

Twenty minutes later Draco was feeling quite proud of himself. He had followed a recipe for beef stew in the Practical Household Magic book Hermione had given him. He was laying out plates when his mother came into the kitchen, looking shocked.

"Draco what are you doing?" she said, looking around the tidied up kitchen, her eyes falling on the bubbling cauldron.

"Making dinner," he said casually, as if he frequently cooked and cleaned.

His mother looked incredulous but sat down at the table and allowed him to serve her. They ate in silence for a few minutes before Draco fished. "It's not too bad, you think?"

She laughed heartily for the second time that day and he felt some warmth stir in his heart. "Draco, it's wonderful. I have to admit I'm completely amazed that you did this, but I'm incredibly proud of you. You are becoming a good man, darling."

Draco smiled but didn't speak. He went back into his thoughts about the letter he sent to Astoria. For weeks now, even before the fall of the Dark Lord, he would lie awake and think about how his life could've been different, had he not been inducted into the Death Eaters. He could've spent last year with her, helping her with her potions homework like he had for four years previous. He might've even gotten up the nerve to ask her out properly.

And where would they be now? Would they still be together?

No, he'd be dead. His parents would be dead.

Even though Draco was conflicted about the whole mess, he still felt he did the right thing, becoming a Death Eater. But when Astoria had glanced the Dark Mark that now graced his forearm, well, even their friendship had been taken off the table then.

As if on cue, his mother cleared her throat and pulled a rolled up parchment from her ratty-looking, but now clean, robes and passed it to him.

"What's this?" he asked, picking up the sealed scroll.

His mother shrugged, pretending to look disinterested. "No idea, found it in front of the fireplace. It has your name on it."

Draco glanced up at her and for a moment thought about leaving the room to read it in private. His mind briefly flashed with several fantasies of what the letter would contain. That Astoria would declare her undying love for him, that she had set a time and place for them to secretly meet, that she would forgive him.

He cracked the wax and unrolled the parchment. It contained one line in the rounded bubbly scroll he knew belonged to Astoria Greengrass.

_I'm sorry Draco, I can't._

* * *

_A/N 2: I loved writing Kreacher, he's fun. I was initially planning for there to be a bigger upset with Draco and Hermione but then realized at this point his antics are old hat to her and she's kind of just used to it. As per usual, I live for your reviews, comments and even your criticism (keep it constructive, folks) and I thank you for continuing to read! You guys are the best!_

_Also, if you would like some more insight into Draco and Astoria's relationship, prior to this, they also have a drabble in Young Love, which is a collection of romantic pairing drabbles I wrote for a challenge. Most of them follow canon (and my HP universe) except for Katie/Oliver and Dean/Harry, which were given to me by the challenge judge. _

_ The next chapter is Dean's. I'll have it up ASAP! _


	17. Preservation- Dean

**May 19- Preservation**

**Dean**

"One please," Dean said to the ticket seller.

"Are you a student?" the clerk asked, looking at the large sketchbook Dean was toting under his arm.

"Yes."

"Do you have a school ID?"

"Erm, no, I go to school in Scotland, left it at home."

The man looked at him suspiciously for a moment and then said, "It's fine, five dollars please."

Dean slid the crisp five-dollar bill under the glass and was given a ticket. He had to admit that carrying dollars was a lot lighter than carrying galleons or even pounds. He still kept one galleon with him at all times, but its value was not monetary.

Dean walked into the museum's atrium and stared around. It was a beautiful room filled with marble and large topiary displays. He thought he could probably spend all day sketching in this room alone, but he knew The Met had many other things to see.

He wandered around for about an hour, in awe of the amount of artwork that was surrounding him. Finally, he settled down in a room empty of people that had a few benches and some interesting sculptures.

Dean had always enjoyed drawing, but in the past year it had become a source of irreplaceable comfort. He had kept a small sketchbook with him while he was on the run and would draw mindlessly for hours, making more pages as he needed them. He also wrote about his day-to-day life, spilling his hopes and fears out across the blank paper in the dead of night as he tried to decipher the sounds of the forest.

Dean actually began to feel solace at the thought that if he were to be caught and killed, perhaps someone would come across the book one day and know his story. This had been the thing that helped him to keep going, especially after Dirk and Ted were murdered. He also felt sad about the goblin, but Ted had been pivotal to his freedom up until that point. Ted had reminded him of his stepfather; quick to smile and very effective at calming Dean down when he would lie awake, shaking in fear and cold. Ted would sit next to him in their makeshift tent and tell Dean about his life. How he met his wife, the birth of his daughter, Nymphadora, the day he found out he was a wizard. These tales would float around in Dean's mind after he finally fell asleep and then next day he would write down what he remembered, and sketch the images that he dreamed. One day he hoped to give these things to Ted's wife.

It had been Ted that shouted for him to hide, and who had cast the impressive concealment charm on him and the goblins when they ran into those snatchers outside of Bubbly Babbington. Dean had watched the two wizards duel the other four and was frozen in fear. He hadn't been able to stop Gornuk from jumping into the fray. And he hadn't been able to stop his screams when he saw the flash of green light strike Ted to the ground. Griphook had Disapparated them to the woods, then went off to find food, leaving Dean in his grief for several hours. He had written it all down, what had happened, how he felt. He drew sketches of what the snatchers had looked like. When he had spilled everything out onto paper, he felt better. Since then it had been a daily need, like eating.

Dean had been sketching a sculpture of a Greek goddess. She was missing both her arms, and her hair was an intricately carved pile of marble. He was concentrating on his work so much that he practically jumped out of his skin when he heard a tinkling laugh behind him.

"Oh! I'm so sorry. Sorry!" the girl whispered, looking mortified.

Dean felt himself flush and tried to compose himself. "S'alright. Just didn't realize anyone was in here."

"Sorry," she said again, "I shouldn't have been snooping anyway. I saw you sketching. It's really good."

"Thanks," he replied, feeling a warm smile spread across his face. "What was so funny, anyway?"

She blushed slightly. "Oh, uh, you might've made Aphrodite a little too…um, well endowed." She gestured to the chest of the statue.

Dean chuckled, "Eye of the beholder, yeah?"

She laughed loudly this time and was promptly met with a "Shh!" from the guard in the hallway.

"Oops!" the girl whispered again and then walked around the bench to sit next to Dean.

He watched as she placed her own, smaller sketchbook down and covered it with a bag.

When she turned back to him, her hand was outstretched. "I'm Ashley."

Dean awkwardly shifted his drawing materials to complete the handshake.

"Dean."

"Hi, Dean."

"Hi," he smiled widely. He thought he must look like a goof, smiling dumbly at a pretty girl. But they were alone, save for the nosy security guard.

Ashley was very pretty. She was tall and willowy, with very shiny brown hair that fell in two wavy sheets a few inches under her jaw. Her skin was a very light brown, the color of toffee, and she had two clusters of freckles on each cheek. Dean hazarded a glance at her eyes and was transfixed by their hazel shade, flecked with gold.

"Um…" she said, blinking several times causing him to snap out of his trance.

"So, uh Aphrodite, eh? You know stuff about her?" he asked, pointing to the statue he had been sketching.

She blushed and nodded, "Yeah, she's the Greek goddess of love. This statue is about two thousand years old. It's one of the most perfectly preserved of the era."

"Perfectly preserved, you say? She doesn't have any arms," he teased.

Ashley giggled and gave him a light push to the elbow. "Well she's been through a lot ok? Let's see how you look after two thousands years!"

"Shhh!"

Ashley slapped her hand over her mouth. He chuckled and rubbed his jaw. He hadn't bothered to shave this morning and he could feel the dark stubble scratching his hand. There was an awkward silence as Ashley worried her full lower lip, then she said, "So, what are you working on this for?"

Dean shrugged, "I just like drawing."

She furrowed her brow, "So it isn't for school or anything?"

He shook his head. "Nah, why would it be for school?" Dean then realized that for most people, his sisters included, school was still in session. Though, having gone to a boarding school, he was never assigned outside projects for his art classes. Hogwarts had quite enough statues to be sufficient for several years of figure studies.

"Oh, I just thought….how old are you?" she blurted out.

"Um, eighteen. You?"

"Seventeen. It's just, I'm working on my portfolio for college. I figured that's what you were doing too."

"For college? Why do you need a portfolio for college?" he asked, thinking of the large bag his mother carried for work.

She giggled again, while reaching into her bag. "These are the types of pieces that each of the schools I've applied to want to see at my interview."

Dean glanced over the list. He felt a jittery excitement spreading out along his skin. Dean had never thought about going to University. In the wizarding world, most people did some training after Hogwarts, some even going to special academies, but he never once thought that he could go somewhere, to learn art.

"This is brilliant. Are all these schools in America?" he asked, looking over the list again.

She nodded. "Yeah. Oh, do you not live here?"

He shook his head. "Nah, I live in England. Just visiting my grandparents for the summer."

"Oh." He couldn't be sure, but he thought Ashley looked almost disappointed about this.

"Can anyone go to these schools?" he went on.

"Um, I mean, you need to apply, and then, if they like your transcripts-"

"My what?"

"Transcripts? They're like your grades and test scores from high school."

"Oh." Dean was already seeing a big problem with the possibility of attending any of the schools on this list. He wondered if there were wizarding art academies as well. He decided to ask Seamus and Luna in his next letters to them.

"So, if they pick you for an interview, then you have to show your portfolio and speak with someone from the school. Then they send you a letter around Christmas that says whether or not you got in."

"Wow, sounds like a lot of work."

"Yeah," she said quietly, looking at him under what Dean suddenly realized were long dark eyelashes. When he didn't say anything she began gathering up her bag and small pile of supplies.

"Well, anyway, I'll let you get back to work. I need to submit a surrealist drawing so I'm going to find that stuff."

Dean's inner voice was telling him that he should not let this girl leave without at least getting a phone number so he said, as casually as he could muster, "Sounds cool…can I come?"

"Sure!" she said, enthusiastically.

"Shh!" came a harsh voice from the hall.

Dean rolled his eyes. "C'mon, let's go!" he said. As they walked past the annoyed security guard Dean gave her a slight bow, causing Ashley to unsuccessfully stifle a laugh.

* * *

"Hey that's weird," Ashley said, flipping through Dean's sketchbook.

"What?"

"This one," she leaned over to where he was sitting on the grass and pointed to a portrait he had done of his mother. Dean had used some magic when drawing it and occasionally the sides of his mother's mouth would pull up slightly the way they did when she was trying to reprimand him for something she found to be amusing. It was his favorite expression, but right now, it was very unwelcome.

"What about it?" he asked, pulling the sketchbook from Ashley as if to get a closer look.

She shrugged and took a sip of her milkshake. "I dunno, probably just the light from the trees. The smile is really good though, it's like a Mona Lisa."

Dean closed the sketchbook and tucked it behind him, then went back to his own lunch. "Thanks, that's my mum."

"She's pretty. You don't look too much like her though."

He laughed. "Should I say thanks or sorry?"

Ashley blushed. "That's not what I meant! I just mean, well, you must look more like your dad. And I, I'm sure he was…handsome," she trailed off quietly but Dean was aware of the implicated compliment.

"I suppose I do look a bit like him. I've only seen pictures though, he died when I was little."

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry!"

He shook his head, smiling kindly. "Nah, it's ok. I didn't know him at all, though I do wish I could've met him. My mum remarried though, so I do have a dad, and four sisters."

"Wow! Four sisters! I'm an only child. My best friend, Tammy, she has four siblings too. Drives her nuts at school, because they are always trying to hang around with us. Do your sisters do that to you?"

_Uh-oh._ So far their conversation had stayed in safe territory, he had hardly had to lie about anything. But now he was going to have to start using the story he told his grandparents.

"Nah, I go to a different school than they do. That's why I'm out earlier. They still have three weeks left."

"Oh, yeah I do too. I got out early today because of SATs. Do you have those?"

"Um, are those like tests? Yeah we have those. They're called A levels." His grandmother had kept asking him what he got on his A-levels. He couldn't very well tell her he hadn't gotten to take his exit exams because he was on the run from dark wizards all year.

"So, did you graduate this year then?" she asked, shifting onto her stomach and kicking her legs up.

_No._ "Yes."

"That's awesome. I can't wait to graduate. Where are you going to college?"

_I'm not._ "Um, I'm not sure yet. Still waiting to hear back."

"Well, wherever you end up, you should look into art classes. You are really good. I'm actually kind of jealous!"

He laughed. "Don't be. You're good too. And you'll get into one of those schools for sure."

She gave him a radiant smile that made his shoulders tense. "Thanks."

They were silent for a few minutes, watching the birds and squirrels hop around in the lush green trees that surrounded them.

"Hey, have you been to the zoo yet?"

Dean shook his head. His mum had said something about going when his sisters arrived but he wasn't about to pass up a chance to spend more time with Ashley.

"You want to?" she asked, sitting up on her knees now and stretching so that about an inch of her stomach was visible. He gulped.

"Definitely."

* * *

_Seamus-_

_Sounds like you have a lot going on right now. That's brilliant. I'm glad to hear things are good with Katie. I told you she just needed some time. And I will definitely buy my next broomstick at Bell and Finnegan's! Or is it Finnegan and Bell's? Also, congrats about your job. I know you said it's only part-time, but it's more time than I've got at any job right now. Let me know what it's like working for George. Will Ron be your boss as well? That would be weird for me._

_I got a letter from Dad the other day. They are all doing well and are planning to be out here in three weeks when the girls get out of school. Have you found your dad yet? I reckon you're right, she probably scared him half way to India with her warning about Voldemort. But I'm sure he's ok._

_New York is growing on me. I know I said it was terrifying but now I think you'd like it. It's full of weird, loud Muggles, bright lights, and girls in very little clothing. Everyone here is always yelling and in a rush. But the food is brilliant and there is a lot to see and do. I probably shouldn't tell you this, since you are with Katie and all, but American girls love British accents. I don't want to jinx anything but I'll just say it has been a very good trip so far._

_I've tried to convince Mum to let me come stay at yours in July. She hasn't said yes yet, but I can already tell that Gran is getting to her. Plus, the other day Granddad walked in on me summoning a beer from the refrigerator. Thankfully he was too busy yelling about how I was too young for beer to realize I had done magic. I know it's a long shot, but maybe your mum will give you leave to come to New York?_

_Maybe not tell Katie about the girls._

_I've enclosed some Muggle mail supplies as I don't think Brian will be able to make another trip to New York in one piece. Besides the fact that it's really far, folks in New York don't take kindly to strange owls flying around. He's likely to get hurt. _

_I'm not exaggerating._

_Oh, and I've decided I'm going to look into art academies when I get back. Has your mum ever heard of anything like that for wizards? _

_-Dean_

_P.S. Fold the parchment and put it inside the envelope. I've already stamped and addressed a few for you. Just make sure they all look the same._

Dean rolled up the parchment and placed it in the care package next to the book of stamps, stack of envelopes, some Muggle candy bars and a small stack of magically shrunken Muggle comic books that his Grandparents had saved for him.

He closed the box, performed a featherweight charm and carried it over to Seamus' family owl. Though visibly exhausted, the owl seemed to be in quite good spirits. He had even brought Dean back the head of a recently eaten rodent.

"You going to be ok getting this to Seamus?" he asked the owl, tying the care package to his leg. The owl let out a long high-pitched whistle.

"Alright then, safe travels!" he called, as the bird took flight and soared towards the brilliantly lit skyline.

* * *

_Author's Note: So there's our first look at what's going on for Dean at the moment. Things will get more interesting for him as months go on but right now he is just enjoying a little down time with his family. I'd love to hear what you all think about Ashley, seeing as she's the first OC that I've written with a regular part in the story. _

_Tomorrow (in story time) is Ginny, featuring Harry and Luna. I decided to rework it a bit so it won't be up for a few days probably. _


	18. Intrusion- Ginny

**May 20- Intrusion**

**Ginny**

Ginny turned the corner, clutching two bottles of butterbeer and a new copy of Quidditch Quarterly Magazine under her arm as she made her way back up to her room. Suddenly she stopped and her mouth fell open in absolute shock. There, on the landing, were Ron and Hermione, going at each other like, well, _teenagers. _The thought was so weird to Ginny, because they actually _were _teenagers. It was so hard to think of them as such, seeing as Ron was now a working Auror and Hermione was, well, Hermione. Ginny smiled as she watched them ravage each other in the hallway, but then realized what she was doing and felt a little embarrassed. When she saw Ron push his hands up Hermione's back as if to unhook her bra she called, "You _do _know you are in the hallway, yes?"

They broke apart suddenly and looked down the stairs at her bemused expression. Ron turned red, but Hermione, to Ginny's great pride, turned her nose up haughtily.

"Sorry, did you need to get by?" Hermione asked her, trying to hide the fact that she was out of breath and missing a least two buttons from the front of her top.

Ginny smiled. "I _would_ actually, thanks."

She climbed the stairs and they parted. Walked between them shecould actually feel the heat they had created, which made her both disgusted and happy. As Ginny turned to enter her room she called back to them.

"You should also know that Mum is back from Andromeda's. Maybe find a room?"

"Right," said Ron, not really looking at her as he grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her up the stairs to his attic bedroom.

Ginny chuckled as she swung her bedroom door open with her hip.

"Harry you won't _believe_-" but her gossip was cut off by Harry's quick reflexes. He lunged at her, simultaneously grabbing the butterbeers and kissing her mouth shut.

When he pulled away Ginny felt a little hazy as she looked into his bright green eyes.

"Ginny, please, I really don't want to know."

She peered at him. "You saw them?"

Harry's grimace was all the answer Ginny needed and she cackled with laughter as he plopped back down on her bed, rubbing his eyes as if he could erase what he'd seen.

"Honestly, Harry, they're no worse than we were at first. And they are much better than Ron was with Lavender!" She lay down on her stomach next to him and opened the Quidditch magazine.

Harry shifted so he was lying next to her and could also read the magazine. She rubbed her stocking foot against the back of his calf and he sighed.

"I _know_. But you and I were at least subtle. We had corridors to hide away in," Harry said, turning the page.

"The hallway is sort of like a corridor, all dark and dusty. No ghosts though," she teased, remembering the time Nearly Headless Nick had floated into an empty corridor they had commandeered, shouted his profuse apologies and then floated back through the wall.

Harry for some reason had been mortified but Ginny just laughed. _I mean, he was a ghost!_

Harry snorted, remembering the same moment was. "I wish I could've just floated back through the wall ten minutes ago!"

They were quiet for a while, drinking butterbeer and reading about Quidditch, before Ginny spoke again.

"Do you think they've done it yet?" she asked, nonchalantly, not taking her eyes off of a photo of the Chudley Cannons that depicted the epic fumble that lost them a spot in the championship.

"Dunno," he said, taking a long sip of his butterbeer.

She peered sideways at him. She wouldn'tbe breaking her promise to keep Hermione's secret if Harry already knew.

"I don't think they have, I mean, Ron is just so _obvious_," Ginny exaggerated, pushing into Harry's shoulder. He gave her a small smile, but did not speak.

"He'll be strutting around here like Percy after he was made Prefect when it happens," she added.

When Harry remained quiet she knew blunt force would be required to get a peep out of him.

"Have you two talked about anything?" Ginny didn't need to elaborate. She and Harry had started talking in a sort of clipped speech, each already knowing what the other was talking about. She wondered if this was just a side effect of spending almost every day together and if they would write long, drawn out letters when she went back to Hogwarts.

Harry shook his head. "Not really, you?"

"No, Hermione's been too distracted with their trip to Australia to talk boys with me."

Harry looked at her now, as if just realizing something. "What d'you mean 'talk boys', Ginny? You don't talk about _us_, do you?"

Ginny shrugged, trying to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal, but she could feel the Weasley flush giving her away. "Sometimes. I mean Hermione isn't very experienced, though she has way more book knowledge on the subject than I even thought possible!" She laughed, trying to turn the conversation back to humor. Harry's penetrating stare told her she was not successful.

"What'd you tell her?"

"Nothing." She stared back, defiantly.

He pulled the magazine away from her on threw it on the floor.

"You're lying."

"So?" She could tell that this was likely going to end on a good note, seeing the corners of Harry's mouth turn up devilishly.

"What did you tell her, _Ginevra_ Weasley?"

Ginny narrowed her eyes at the use of her full name. _What kind of name was Ginevra, anyway?_

If he wanted to know so bad, she'd tell him. She didn't see what the big deal was.

"Hermione simply wanted to know what other sorts of things we did that weren't actually having sex," she told him, thinking back to the conversation she and Hermione had two weeks ago. It was really the only thing she that came to mind. Harry blanched.

"And what did you tell her?"

Ginny leaned towards him. "The truth," she whispered against his lips as she went in for a kiss. To her surprise, he pulled back, rolling off the bed.

"What the hell, Harry?"

"What the hell, me? What the hell, you, Ginny?! You told her about our sex life! Without asking me!"

Ginny suppressed an eye roll as she waved her wand to cast the full-area silencer Hermione had taught her.

"Harry, will you calm down? You told me yourself that you wish you could talk about this sort of thing with Ron. If I wasn't his sister you-"

"But you _are _his sister," he shouted at her, "and that is _private_! I don't want you to discuss our personal life with anyone, do you understand me?"

Ginny flew off the bed now, enraged. "Excuse me? Who are you talking to Harry Potter?! If you want to talk about this like a rational person who supposedly _loves me_, then you can come find me. But I will _not," _she walked up and pointed the tip of her wand into his chest, "be spoken to that way or giving instruction about who I can and cannot talk to."

With that Ginny swung her hair around and stomped towards the door. Before she left she turned back and said, "And don't you dare harass Hermione about this, it's between us."

Harry spat back, "You are such a hypocrite," as she slammed the door and ran downstairs.

Ginny pushed the back door open and ran to the broom shed, tears streaming both from anger and the harsh wind that was swirling around the yard.

"Ginevra Molly Weasley!"

She turned, the use of her full name only infuriating her more. Her mother was bounding towards her, all skirts and hair flying in the turbulent wind.

"Where on Earth do you think you are going?!"

"Mum, please!" she cried, not wanting to shout at her mother as she knew that would only make things worse.

Mrs. Weasley was standing next to her now and Ginny could feel her eyes scanning her as she tried to figure out what had made her daughter so angry.

"Did you and Harry have a row?" she asked, trying to sound sympathetic.

"Yes!" Ginny shouted, then, seeing her mother's face, tried to restrain herself. "He's being a prat and I just want to go for a fly, Mum! I'm not leaving! I just need to blow off some steam before I jinx the little-"

"Ginny," her mother warned, not letting a little thing like complete and utter rage stand in the way of controlling her daughter's foul mouth.

Ginny could feel more hot tears trailing down her cheeks. She had never been someone who would cry at the drop of a hat, but since Fred's funeral she felt less in control of her emotions.

"Ginny dear, why are you out here? If you and Harry are fighting, you should be with him."

Ginny looked at her mother in disbelief. Was she actually encouraging them to fight? Ginny wondered if this was some weird plan to get her and Harry to break up. Immediately Ginny discredited that, knowing her mother loved Harry as much as any of her children.

"Why should I go back in there if he's just going to try and boss me around?" she demanded, hands on her hips in a perfect resemblance of the elder Weasley woman, who smiled at her warmly.

"Well, dear, I assume you don't want to tell me what happened?"

Ginny considered it for a moment. Her mother had started having conversations about sex with her from a young age so she wasn't really shy about it, though she was unsure if her mother knew or wanted to know just what was going on under her roof. Ginny supposed a woman who had birthed seven children knew a thing or two about the importance of intimacy in a relationship.

"Harry doesn't want me to talk about our physical relationship with Hermione," she stated, trying to sound confident, but feeling a little sheepish about admitting to her mother what she and Harry had been up to.

Molly looked as if she was suppressing a disapproving face but righted herself and said, "That's understandable."

"What?!" Ginny shouted, furious now. "Are you seriously going to take his side? That's so-"

"I'm not taking anyone's side, young lady! I'm simply saying that it's understandable that Harry would feel uncomfortable about you discussing something so private with a girl who is practically his sister."

Ginny hesitated but then stubbornly pushed on. "But Hermione _isn't _Harry's sister."

Mrs. Weasley didn't move to speak but simply watched her daughter as if waiting for some realization to hit her.

"What?" Ginny finally asked, tired of waiting for whatever lesson her mother wanted to impart on her.

Mrs. Weasley smiled. "Well, dear, would you say Harry loves Hermione?"

"Of course."

"But you aren't jealous? I mean, they spent an awful long time sharing that tent when they were on the run."

Ginny furrowed her brow at her mother now. "Mum, don't be ridiculous. Harry doesn't feel that way about Hermione. She's like his…oh. Bollocks."

Molly chuckled but then covered it with a small cough.

"I'm not saying that whatever happened between you and Harry was your fault, dear. But you can't just run away from someone because you don't like what they have to say. You are stubborn like me and I know that sometimes it's hard to hear that you are wrong."

Ginny crossed her arms now and sighed.

"Ok, fine. Harry is like Hermione's brother. Ron is my _actual _brother and Hermione is like my sister, too. If we feel ok talking about that kind of stuff then why shouldn't I be allowed to just because Harry feels uncomfortable?"

At this Molly put her own hands on her hips and raised her eyebrows. "Is that what he said? That you weren't allowed?"

Ginny nodded.

"Oh, well then, I think you gave him a good peek at what it will be like marrying a Prewitt woman."

She hugged Ginny now and whispered in her ear, even though there was no one else around to hear them. "I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself. I know I don't have to worry about you and Harry but there's always going to be a part of me that wants to defend you. Don't ever stop being the strong woman you are now. But also don't let that strength keep you from your soulmate."

Ginny pulled away and looked at her mother. Both women had tears in their eyes.

"What should I do?" she asked, suddenly feeling like a child even after her mother's insistence that she was a strong woman.

"Well, dear, I know Harry loves you, but he's also had every part of his life available to the public from even before he can remember. If I was to guess, I think he just overreacted to finding out about your little girl-talk sessions. I bet now that You-Know-Who is gone, he was hoping for some privacy. I think you should go back in there and talk to him. Marriage is about compromise and talking rationally, even when you are angry."

"Mum, Harry and I aren't married."

"I know, that was just for future reference." And with that Molly gave her daughter one more loving smile and turned back towards the house.

Ginny watched her walk away and thought about her mother's life. She had gained and lost so much in such a short time on this earth. Ginny hoped she could be as strong.

Ginny opened the broom shed and went inside. Upon seeing the row of gleaming Firebolts that Harry had purchased for the family shed hanging next to Fred's old Shooting Star she felt like crying again. Harry was a wonderful man, but they were both extremely stubborn people. She would have to learn to be more rational and cool her temper.

Ginny mounted one of the brooms and carried another as she flew up to her own bedroom window.

She could see Harry sitting in her armchair in the corner of her room. He seemed to be reading the Quidditch magazine again. Maybe waiting for her to return and apologize. Merlin they were both stubborn.

Ginny reached out and tapped on the glass. Harry looked up at her, startled. She opened the window and then threw the other broom in at him. Just as it looked like it would clatter to the ground she held her wand out to keep it from falling.

"Oi!" Harry shouted, lunging for the broom. "Do you know how much I spent on these?" His harsh voice told her he was still pretty angry. Ginny sighed.

"Yes, probably more than my entire family makes in a year. Will you please get on?"

He glared at her but got on the broom and followed her out into the grounds. Ginny waited until they were out in the open space before she pressed herself flat down against the broom and let the speed of it overtake her.

"Hey!" she heard Harry call out as she picked up speed.

Ginny turned and saw him gaining on her. When he was close enough for her to hear him say, "What are you playing…" she dipped down below the trees and started to weave in and out of them. Ginny lost him very quickly at this point so slowed down to let him catch up. It wasn't fair that she had done this route so many times that it was now memorized. When she saw Harry again he looked livid, but was still trailing her, which she took as a good sign. Ginny picked up her speed as they reached the small stream that passed through her family's land. Here she sped up and dropped her broom so she was flying right over top of the water. She leaned down and put her hand into the water.

"Ginny, what are you doing?! Be careful!" she heard him cry from above her. Harry knew it was not safe to fly a broom so close over water. She began to grab the small stones she spied in the water and threw them to the side counting loudly.

"Six! Seven! Eight…shite….Nine!"

"Blimey, Ginny!" Harry's voice seemed to have switched from anger and worry to awe and admiration.

"Ten!" she cried happily, holding the small rock above her head as she made her way over to a clearing in the grass. Harry landed there as well and let the Firebolt fall carelessly to the ground.

"Blimey, Harry, do you know how much those brooms _cost_?"

He smiled at her and said, "Yes, so I know I can afford more," before pulling her into a huge, rib cracking hug.

"I'm sorry," she said into his neck.

"Me too. That was incredible, Gin."

Harry seemed so dumbfounded by her flying that he no longer cared about their row. Ginny figured they'd get to it eventually.

"Thanks. It's my training track. I usually time it but I went slow so I wouldn't lose you." She gestured at the small timer that was clipped to the front of her broom. The entire chase had taken less than six minutes.

"What's your record?" he asked now, taking the small rock from her hand and examining it.

"Two minutes, forty five seconds."

"Brilliant," he said, throwing the stone into the air.

"Thanks," she said again, as she caught it with ease. "Listen Harry, I'm sorry about earlier, I shouldn't have left. But I don't like being bossed around or talked to that way. And I don't like being called names. I have six brothers that have done that my entire life and I won't have it anymore, I won't."

Harry grabbed her hand and made to speak but she held up the other and stopped him.

"But I'm really sorry I didn't talk to you about it before I talked to Hermione. I didn't think about how you felt about your privacy or about your relationship with Hermione. I just really needed a girl to talk to about it, you know?"

"Yeah, I really do, Ginny. I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have behaved that way, especially with you. I don't even know why I reacted so strongly. I guess I just always think people are making decisions for me without my consideration. I do love you, and you're right, if you need to talk about it with someone besides me, you should be able to without me getting all mental."

She smiled at him and put her other arm around his neck. "That's really good to know Harry. So you won't be mad about the interview I gave the Prophet called 'Harry Potter's sordid sex life'?"

"You twat!" he said, laughing.

She laughed too then pushed her hand into the side of his face as he grabbed her waist, causing them both to fall to the ground. "Don't call me names you great wanking prat!"

They wrestled for a moment until they were both muddy and out of breath. Harry had her pinned in the dirt with one hand on her shoulder, the other cradling her head from the muddy ground beneath her.

Ginny smiled when he gave her that questioning look he had whenever he wanted to proceed in a way that she might not be agreeable to.

"Really, Potter? In the mud?"

He blushed slightly and shrugged. "It was just a thought. You look really sexy right now and…"

Ginny cut him off with a hard kiss, her arms now tightly around his neck. Harry pulled off his flannel and tucked it up under her head.

"You are very chivalrous for a dirty perv, you know that?" Ginny teased as she made to undo the button on his trousers.

He gave her a noncommittal grunt and then went back to kissing her, now deeply involved with her neck, ear and collarbone. His hands had just made their way under her top when a voice rang out from the trees.

"I hate to interrupt, but I can't find my way home unless I walk past you two," called the spacey lilting voice of Luna Lovegood.

Ginny laughed as Harry flung himself back as if jinxed. She lifted herself up on her elbows to see Luna hesitantly creeping towards them, her arms piled with a variety of strange plant life.

"Hi, Luna!" she said, not really too disappointed at the interruption. Ginny wasn't really too keen to have mud caked into well, everywhere. Harry was now sitting on a log with one of their Firebolts across his lap, pretending to examine it. Ginny knew that he was both trying to cover up his embarrassment and his arousal.

"Hello. I'm sorry Ginny. I'm sorry Harry. I truly didn't mean to interrupt your canoodling!"

Ginny was surprised to see that Luna actually looked embarrassed for the first time in the history of their friendship.

"It's fine, Luna, we weren't doing anything," Ginny said, standing up and pulling her wand to clean up. Luna gave her a disbelieving expression as she approached and Ginny smiled. "Ok, fine, we were doing something, but it's not anything that can't be postponed until later. What are you doing out here anyway?"

Luna shifted her plants and said, "Foraging, mostly. We needed some herbs and things for the kitchen and the apothecary and there are a lot of great things that grow along the stream. I usually just follow it back to the house, which is why I had to walk past. I thought about just waiting, but then you two looked as if, well…" Luna trailed off with a shy smile.

Ginny leaned in to whisper so only Luna could hear. "Honestly, I'm not fussed. Could you imagine? It's like a damn bog out here!"

Luna laughed loudly and Ginny saw that Harry was watching them suspiciously.

Ginny arched an eyebrow at him and his expression changed. He stood up and walked over to them, still carrying his broom.

"Hey Luna, how are you?"

"Oh, I'm very well! Neville has been helping me restock our apothecary. It was destroyed when the Death Eaters blew up our house."

Ginny noticed that Harry was looking uncomfortable so reached out and squeezed his free hand. She had heard the tale of Harry's visit to Xenophilus Lovegood and knew he was probably not keen to discuss it with the man's daughter.

"Oh? Is Neville here then? I thought he'd be at the Ministry." Harry said, looking around and avoiding the more awkward parts of her statement.

Luna shook her head. "Yes, Neville is at work. But he showed me what some of the things I needed looked like and I've been collecting them during my walks." She held up a very strange root that looked like a carrot except it was pink and curly like a pig's tail.

Harry gave her a shifty grin and said, "Brilliant."

"How come you aren't at work today Harry?" Luna asked, shifting her plants around again when a long slimy one that looked a bit like seaweed began slithering out of the pile.

"Oh, well Junior Aurors only work part-time, yeah? We get different days off during the week. Susan reckons it's their way of getting around giving us benefits but I think it's great because that way I can spend more time with Ginny!"

Luna looked at him curiously for a moment but then blinked and looked off into the trees.

"Ok, then. I should get going. Some of these plants need to be bottled quickly. Goodbye." Luna's voice sounded flat to Ginny and as the girl trudged past them in the mud Ginny turned to Harry.

"Something's wrong," she whispered.

"What d'you mean?"

"With Luna, something's not right. Can we continue this another time?"

He gave her a smile that let her know he was definitely not mad at her anymore. "Sure." He kissed her on the forehead. "Love you."

"Love you too. See you in a bit! Hey Luna!" Ginny yelled towards Luna, who was making her way into the cover of the trees.

Luna turned and looked at her with glassy eyes.

"Hey, let me give you a ride home, alright?" Ginny said, grabbing her broom and jogging towards her.

"Oh, um, thank you, yes," Luna stammered as she climbed on the broom and held tight to Ginny's shoulder with one hand, the other clinging tightly to the pile of slightly damp plant life.

Ginny didn't speak until they landed in Luna's colorful backyard. They made their way over to the mud sink and Luna plopped the pile of vegetation down, wiping her muddy hand mindlessly on her long navy frock.

"So, are you going to tell me why you are upset?" Ginny asked, helping Luna sort through the sticky pile with hesitation. She was rubbish at Herbology and worried that some of these things could be poisonous.

"If you want to know, I'll tell you," Luna said plainly, rinsing and chopping up the seaweed.

"I do."

"Neville would never do to me what Harry was doing to you. In the mud."

Ginny raised her eyebrows and sat down on a large tree stump. _This should be interesting._

"You just mean in the mud, or at all?" Ginny asked, trying to keep her voice neutral.

"At all. Every time I try to do anything more than kiss him he doesn't seem to want to. I don't think he's attracted to me."

Ginny goggled at the normally confident girl. "Are you crazy, Luna? Neville is definitely attracted to you. Why else would he be dating you?"

Luna shrugged and began to picking tiny leaves off a plant and placing them in a bowl. "Maybe he feels sorry for me."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Give me a break Luna! Neville wouldn't do that."

But now that Ginny thought about it, she second-guessed herself. Maybe Neville would do that. Was he such a nice guy that he would actually date someone out of pity?

Luna sighed and sat next to Ginny. "How do I find out? I want what you and Harry have. I want to do all the things that most people do with their boyfriends."

Ginny flushed ever so slightly at the thought of Luna and Neville having sex. _Too weird._

"Um, well, I bet he's just nervous. Neville was never exactly popular with the ladies."

Luna gave her a serious nod. "That's very true. He's gotten much more confident this past year but is still awkward at the best of times."

Ginny chuckled. _Luna Lovegood is calling someone else awkward._

"Too true. So maybe, I dunno, talk to him about it? Or, maybe show him what you want?"

Luna looked thoughtful for a moment. "How do you mean?"

"Well I can't exactly paint you a picture, Luna!" she said, laughing as she got up and washed her hands.

Luna still looked discouraged so Ginny approached her and placed her hands on Luna's shoulders.

"You need to relax, Luna. Plan some time for you to be alone with Neville and you know, just go for it. If he still isn't interested then, well, maybe he isn't the guy for you."

Luna gave her a dreamy smile and nodded.

"Thanks Ginny. I'm very glad I ran into you today, even if the timing wasn't very good."

Ginny laughed and gave Luna's shoulders a pat. "It could've been worse. You could've showed up five minutes later and gotten quite an eyeful."

Luna exhaled heavily and rubbed her face, leaving green streaks across her cheeks.

"That would've been horrible," she said plainly.

"Eh, I can think of worse people that could walk in on me shagging," Ginny said shrugging.

"Yes, I suppose that's true. Like your brothers or parents."

Ginny nodded and then realized shagging in the woods behind her house was probably the dumbest idea Harry ever had.

"But actually I meant for me. I think seeing Harry Potter like that would ruin our friendship."

Ginny looked at her in surprise.

"Really? Harry but not me?"

Luna shrugged. "It's different with you. You're the closest thing I've ever had to a best girl friend. And you are beautiful, so I wouldn't mind!"

Ginny goggled her. They had grown very close in the past year but she was still loony as ever.

"Um, thanks, I guess. But, you know, I think of you and Neville as some of my best friends and if I ever saw you two like that well…"

She mimed gagging and Luna giggled.

"Yes, I do see what you mean. Well, you look like you want to leave now, do you have plans?"

Ginny blushed a little at her apparent desire to get home.

"Um, yeah, my mum brought Teddy back from Andromeda's with her and I'm keen to go see him."

Luna's eyes lit up at the mention of Teddy.

"Oh, the baby! Yes, you should go. I'd quite like to come see him some other time."

"You should," Ginny said, grabbing her broom. "I'll send you an owl next time he's supposed to come by. And you know, good luck with the whole Neville thing."

Luna just smiled widely and waved.

"See ya," Ginny said and zoomed low over the hills to her house.

She dismounted at the broom shed and returned her broom. Harry's was back as well and she hoped they could have a little alone time before Teddy woke up from his afternoon nap.

Upon entering the living room she saw them both and her heart practically melted. Harry was sitting in her mother's rocking chair with Teddy laying on his legs looking up at him. He was making ridiculous faces and noises as Teddy cooed and reached for him. Harry dipped his face too close to Teddy and the wriggling baby grabbed his glasses, laughing with success.

Ginny laughed too and Harry looked up at her.

"Hey, everything ok with Luna?" he asked, completely oblivious to the fact that Teddy had now split his glasses in two and was bending the half of the frames still clutched tightly in his tiny hands.

Ginny smirked and walked closer. "Yeah, she fine. Your glasses," she said, pointing at Teddy who was now chewing on the lens with wet gums, looking upside down at Ginny and gurgling happily.

Harry just laughed and pulled the glasses lightly from his godson.

"Give me those you little niffler! _Occulus reparo_!"

The glasses repaired themselves and Harry wiped Teddy's drool off onto his shirt. Teddy started to fuss about having his toy taken away and Ginny watched as Harry lifted the baby high in the air and then brought him down to embrace him.

"You two are so adorable," she said, matter-of-factly.

He looked up at her and smiled.

"Come sit," he said, moving to the sofa and placing Teddy against his shoulder where he immediately started to chew on Harry's shirt. Ginny walked over and took a seat next to them. Harry pulled Teddy from his shirt and passed him over.

The baby looked up at her with bright emerald eyes, the same color as Harry's, and smiled. She could see the nubs of two little teeth poking through his gums. Harry put his arm around her and they sat looking down at the happy baby who was gurgling and bouncing as his hair changed to match the color of whatever it was he looked at in the room.

Ginny heard the back door close quietly and looked up from Teddy, who was still pulling on her long red hair. Her mother had just walked into the kitchen with a few heads of cabbage from the garden. Ginny watched as her mother cleaned them off, placing them in a pot of water to boil.

Leaning over to quietly whisper in his ear, Ginny said, "You know, she used to drive me crazy but I'm starting to hope I turn out just like her."

Harry gave her a look of surprise and disbelief.

"Oh really? And why's that?" he whispered back.

Ginny just shrugged and looked back at her mother, who was smiling as she prepared supper for her ever-growing family.

* * *

_Author's Note: Lots of characters in this one. I hope it was easy to follow along. I had __initially planned for Luna to be in this chapter but then decided to remove her and do more with Teddy but then decided to keep her in. Which is why it's so long. _

_Tomorrow (in the story, not IRL) is from Ron's POV as he and Hermione embark for...Australia. I've agonized over this chapter for weeks and weeks. I'm hoping to have it finished soon but I'm not making any promises. So please be patient with me as I try to make this chapter everything I want it to be. _

_Also, quick note about Katie Bell as brought up by a reviewer. Katie missed almost the entirety of her seventh year after being cursed by that necklace so had to repeat a year, which is why she was there all last year. I explain this in a later chapter but I realized that it was a much later chapter so I wanted to make sure that was clear to everyone._

_Thanks for reading and reviewing! You guys are the best!_


	19. Destination- Ron

_Author's Note: Well, finally, finally I'm happy with this chapter. It took a long time, I know. If you've been waiting, I apologize. This was a difficult chapter to write, even without all the outside influences getting in the way of writing. But it's finished now and that's all that matters. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated!_

_Thanks!_

* * *

**May 21- Destination**

**Ron**

For the first time in his life, Ron Weasley, was doing laundry. Sure, he'd gotten his mum to "help" him with the washing spell, but he'd done the drying by himself and was now sorting his and Hermione's clothes into small piles.

As he sorted he thought about their trip. _Their trip. Him and Hermione._ Ron was still focused on that one little detail, while Hermione had spent the last two weeks obsessing over everything else.

Ever since his first year at Hogwarts, anything significant Ron had ever done had been with Hermione, and Harry. They were always a trio. But now they were going to Australia, just him and her. No parents, no brothers, no Harry. Excited couldn't begin to describe how he felt embarking on this trip with her. He was going to help her collect her parents. He was going to be there for her the way he hadn't been there for her last year. It had become his mantra, his obsession. Somehow successfully recovering Hermione's parents was now the way Ron felt he could really prove himself to her. Show her that he was just as capable and brave as Harry.

As Ron pulled a pair of Hermione's cotton knickers from the pile of clean clothes another word popped into his head. _Nervous. _Sure he and Hermione were together now, and had fulfilled most of his teenage fantasies, many of which involving Hermione without clothes on, but this was the first time ever that they would be completely alone. Of course this meant no need for silencing spells or worrying where Ron's mother was at any given time of the day, but it also meant no one to take his side when they fought, and no one to distract Hermione from the fact that Ron was, well, kind of boring.

Ron sighed at the thought, folded the last pair of socks, then levitated both piles in front of him as he made his way back up to his attic bedroom.

While Ron was gone his room had become the most organized chaos he'd ever seen. There were meticulous piles all over his bed, on the floor, and on the dresser. Even Crookshanks was lying on a pile, though Ron was pretty sure he would not be coming along.

"Um, Hermione?"

"Mm?" she barely replied, seemingly going through a checklist of everything they'd need for their trip to Australia one last time. At least Ron hoped this was the last time. Their first port key was set to leave in an hour and he was hoping to "calm his nerves" before they set off.

"Can I help?" he asked half-heartedly, knowing she'd say no.

"Yes, you can," she said, looking up at him with a relieved smile.

"Really? Uh, ok, what is it?"

"Can you start packing? Start with those piles over there and work your way in this direction," she said, motioning with her arms to give him his packing path.

"Wha? You want to bring all of this? _Hermione-_"

"Do not say this will only take one day or that everything will be fine or that I'm overexaggerating. Just don't!" she snapped, looking over her list. "I've included the essentials from last time, plus anything I made a note of missing." She ticked off a few more items.

Ron just sighed and started throwing piles into the bag. Thankfully the undetectable-extension charm made it possible to travel with so many things. Hermione walked around the room checking the last few items off her list before bringing over her own piles.

By the end all the items fitted perfectly. And much to Ron's delight they still had thirty minutes before it was time to leave.

"All set?" he asked, pulling her hair up off her neck and placing it in a ponytail. Ron had told her how he did this for Ginny when she was younger and Hermione liked the story so much he started doing it for her.

She sighed and nodded. "All set. And I remembered to pack food this time."

"Yeah, I saw that, thank you," he said, rubbing the tension out of her shoulders and leaning down to kiss her neck.

"That feels really good Ron, but we have to go."

"Oh, c'mon, we have some wiggle room."

Hermione giggled at his euphemism and turned to kiss him. "I love you, but they have wiggle room in Australia too, and we need to say goodbye to everyone."

Ron sighed and nodded, giving her one last peck before they headed downstairs. They were met with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ginny and Harry in the kitchen. Harry was wearing his Auror robes and looked about ready to head off for work. Ron's dad, however, was still in his pyjamas.

"No work today, Dad?" Ron asked, grabbing some toast off the table and eating it quickly.

Mr. Weasley shook his head. "No, feeling a bit under the weather! Thought I'd take a sick day!" He sounded so chipper that Ron suspected something was amiss. One look at his mother was all it took to figure it out.

"Oh Ronnie!" his mum wailed, running around the table and pulling him into a very tight, tear-filled hug.

"We'll be back soon, Mum. I'll be in touch, too. This isn't like last time, alright?"

He felt her nod into his shoulder and after a few more moments she pulled away, wiping her eyes.

"Just promise me you'll take care of yourselves, yes? I don't want you coming back all skinny this time! You too Hermione!" she said, pulling Hermione into a tight hug as well.

"I promise, Mrs. Weasley. I packed loads of food. And now that we aren't in hiding we can eat at proper restaurants and everything!" Mrs. Weasley choked back a laugh and released her, sniffling.

"Figures I had to go on the lousy trip!" Harry joked, now embracing Hermione. Ron watched and smiled. Finally, after all this time, he could see them together and not feel any jealousy. They were both a part of his family, as much as they were each other's.

"Hey, you," Ginny said to him and Ron spun around as she flung herself into his arms.

"See you, sis. Take care of Harry while I'm gone," Ron said, causing Ginny to laugh and Harry to snort. She hugged him tighter and whispered in his ear, "Promise me something, yeah? When you two get back no leaving home until I go back to Hogwarts. I can't be alone in this house with them any more you hear me?" Ron smiled and nodded, reaching out and grabbing Ginny's nose the way he did when they were little.

Ron couldn't help but think that this is how it should've been last time. Hugs, kisses and goodbyes. Never again did he want to feel that far away and disconnected from his family. He smirked at the thought, seeing as he and Hermione were about to be physically farther than they ever had been from their friends and family. _My family, anyway._

"Oh!" Mrs. Weasley yelled, looking up at the clock and snapping Ron out of his wandering thoughts. "You better be off, only five minutes until your port key!"

"Bye then!" Ron called, waving as he followed Hermione out into the yard. They walked over to the bent bicycle wheel that was lying in the grass.

"I hate port keys," Ron pouted looking down at it. "How many of these do we need to take?"

"Six. We can Apparate the rest of the way."

"Oh goody," he said sarcastically just as the wheel began to glow blue.

"Grab it, Ron!" Hermione said, already clutching tightly to the rusty wheel.

He reached out and grabbed it just at they were sucked into nothingness. A few tense minutes later they landed roughly in a small alley. Ron steadied himself quickly and looked around, making sure their sudden appearance hadn't been spotted by anyone. He let his wand fall from his sleeve at a noise behind some trashcans. When this turned out to be nothing but a cat he finally exhaled and tucked his wand back into his sleeve.

Ron made his way back over to Hermione as he noticed she was checking something off a list.

"What's next?" he asked, leaning over her shoulder, then added, "Bloody hell Hermione!"

Her checklist had at least fifty things on it, micromanaged down to their every move.

The first fifteen involved just their travel plans for that day:

8:41 Port key to France

9:46 Arrive in Paris, France +1 (8:46)

10:00 Breakfast at Aux Balcons

10:20 Walk to park

10:38 Port Key to Thessaloniki, Greece

11:55 Arrive Thessaloniki +2(9:55)

12:37 Port key to Dubai, UAE

1:59 Arrive Dubai +3 (10:59)

2:25 Port Key to Colombo, Sri Lanka

4:30 Arrive Colombo +4.5 (12:00)

5:06 Port key to Jakarta, Indonesia

7:04 Arrive Jakarta +6 (1:04)

8:30 Port Key to Darwin, Australia

11:20 Arrive in Darwin +8.5 (2:50)

11:35 Check in at Travelodge Mirambeena Hotel

9:30am Breakfast

10:15 Apparate to Melbourne

10:25 Arrive Melbourne +9 (1:25am)

"What? It's good to be organized. I gave us some, _ahem, _wiggle room, in case of snags or setbacks. But we really should get to that café."

"Why?" he said, following her along the cobblestone street.

"Because I'm starved!" she called back to him.

Ron smiled. _She was something else._

Hermione ordered for them both in perfect French as Ron just stood there feeling impressed and slightly useless.

"Do you like it here?" Ron asked her, sipping his tea at the small table in the front of the tiny café.

"Of course I like it here! It's my favorite café in Paris!"

"No I mean _here_, in Paris. Do you like it? Do you wish your parents had stayed when you were a kid?"

Hermione shook her head. "Of course not Ron! If I had stayed here I never would've met you or Harry! I would've gone to Beauxbatons with _Fleur_!"

Ron laughed at the way Hermoine said his sister-in-law's name, though he knew the two women had bonded, especially after their stay at Shell Cottage. Ron let his thoughts linger on that moment in time for the briefest of seconds before turning his attention back to Hermione, who was again obsessively looking over her checklist for the day.

"Um, you ready?" Ron asked with a glance at his watch, "Bout time, isn't it?"

"Oh, you're right!" she said, taking their mugs back up the counter and uttering some French goodbyes.

They walked hand in hand to a nearby park. Hermione said this was a regular activity when she and her parents traveled to Paris in the summers. Breakfast at Aux Balcons, then a sunny morning in the park. Ron hoped that when they had kids that those kids could take summer vacations in distant lands. Ron was momentarily distracted as he wondered if Hermione even wanted kids, and if so, how many? He didn't fancy having a family as large as his own, but a few children might be nice, eventually.

"Ok, I think here is good," Hermione said, looking around.

Ron started. "Um, good for what?"

"Disapparating," she hissed. "Our next port key is on the other side of the city."

"Oh boy. I wish I hadn't eaten that huge fried sandwich now!" Ron said as she grabbed his arm.

"Try not to splinch, Ron," Hermione said and turned them on the spot.

"Here, drink this, quick," she said, thrusting a small vial out at him after they landed.

"What is it?"

"It's a tonic, for motion sickness."

"I'm not motion sick!" he argued, but then felt his stomach flip.

"Well if you're not now, you're about to be," she said, taking a swig of the potion herself.

Ron drank half the vial and returned it to her. His stomach was settled almost immediately.

"Now take this," Hermione said bossily, holding out a brick that she had just picked up off the ground.

"What for?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "It's the port key Ron! _Honestly_-"

But whatever admonishment she was about to deliver was cut short as the brick glowed and they were off again.

Most of the morning went this way: arrive in a city, Apparate to the closest Apparition point, then make their way to the next Port Key. Repeat as necessary.

During the way Ron couldn't but feel overwhelmed by the variety of cultures they were rushing through. He thought he'd quite like to travel with Hermione more in the future, but perhaps actually spend more than thirty minutes or so in any of the places they visited.

Ron felt his stomach growl as they made their way down an excessively crowded street in Colombo, Sri Lanka. _I'm in Sri Lanka._ He wanted to point and chat about every new thing he saw but Hermione spent most of their trip with her head in a map giving directions. Ron began to notice she was becoming a little peaky. They both needed food.

Though the sun now signaled late afternoon, Ron's watch told him it was just around lunchtime back in England. He was just about to suggest stopping at one of the myriad produce stands or food stalls when Hermione stopped suddenly, her brow furrowed in her map.

"This doesn't seem right," she said, running her finger down the directions scribbled in her notebook.

"Can I see?" Ron asked, peeking over her shoulder. Hermione just shook her head.

"I followed the directions perfectly."

Ron took a deep breath.

"I understand that Hermione. But maybe-"

"What if Kingsley gave us the wrong directions?! Oh no, Ron, what are we going to do?!"

Hermione looked up at him in severe distress. Ron knew it was highly unlikely that the Minister gave them bad directions and rather more likely that they made a wrong turn somewhere. Something told him that would be the wrong thing to say right now.

"Well, if you'll let me see the map…" he began and she huffed.

"I know how to read a map Ron!"

Ron flushed, holding back the anger that was always so quick to boil over when she snapped at him like this. "I'm sure you do Hermione but if we started out at the wrong Apparation point or something-"

"Oh so now I can't Apparate? I'm not the one who splinched their arm off!"

And that was the last straw. Ron was so angry he ripped the map out of her hands and stalked away through the throngs of people.

"Hey! Ronald you get back here with my map!" she yelled, following behind him quickly.

Hermione caught up and grabbed the back of his shirt. He turned and lifted the map high in the air, out of her reach.

"Dammit, Ron! Give me my map! Give it to me!"

"Will you calm yourself, woman?!" he yelled and his expression must've shown the exasperation he was feeling because she quieted down, angry tears rimming her eyes.

"In case you've forgotten, I'm a ruddy Auror! I look at maps and coordinates for hours a day! Let me look at the bloody map before you fly off the damn handle again, alright?"

Hermione glared up at him and sniffed, then turned her back and walked over to a low stone wall where she sat, arms crossed stubbornly.

Ron shook his head and then spread the map out on the hood of a parked car. Surreptitiously, Ron let his wand fall out of where it was tucked in his sleeve, so just the tip was showing. He muttered a few spells to show their location on the map. As he suspected, they had Apparated fifteen miles short of their designated starting point. Hermione wasn't going to like that.

He then tapped his wand a few more times against the map to figure out their current route. They would never make it to the port key on time by foot. They'd have to Apparate there, which, in the middle of the day, was going to pose some problems. A final spell gave him an address closest to their coordinates.

"Hermione?" he called and was met with silence. He groaned and looked over at her. She was still sitting on the wall, looking as motionless and stony as a statue.

Ron folded up the map and walked towards her slowly. Twice he got jostled by passersby who didn't seem to care that he was there. He saw her eyes dart in his direction but if anything about her pose changed it was that her lips got even thinner than they already were, pressed tightly in anger.

Ron was standing right in front of her, his body tensed at the possibility that she was going to punch him.

"'Mione, please."

Hermione exhaled so violently through her nose that Ron thought she might breathe fire.

"Love, we need to go. We aren't going to make it otherwise."

She gave him a haughty look and jumped off the wall.

"Suppose you'll just have to lead the way then. Since I'm so incompetent."

Ron rolled his eyes and headed back towards the main road. When he turned right instead of left Hermione protested.

"Ron, this is the way we came! Ronald!"

Ron paused and looked back at her. Hermione looked pale under the ruddiness of her cheeks. Her eyes were wet and her hair was a wild halo of ringlets that had come undone from her elastic band. Ron tucked the map into his back pocket and walked back over to her, grasping her hands.

"Will you please trust me? We'll get there. I promise you we'll get there."

"We're going the wrong way."

He nodded. "I know. But we've been going to wrong way for a while now. The only way we can get there in time is to Apparate or drive."

She knitted her brow at him. "Drive? What are you going to do? Steal a car?"

Ron gave her a tight smile. "No, I think I learned my lesson there. I was thinking we could take a taxi?"

Her brow automatically furrowed. "That will be expensive."

He nodded. "Yeah, well, if you want to risk Apparating us there, this is the address. Maybe we'll luck out and there won't be anyone around."

Ron laid the sarcasm on thickly as he looked up and down the road. So far everywhere they'd gone in this city had been crawling with people. Even their fight had taken place as people paraded back and forth down the road on foot, bicycle or in carts.

Hermione actually let a laugh slip. "Yes, well, I suppose it depends on how many people you want to confund today."

Ron smiled wider and squeezed her arms lovingly. "Under a thousand, preferably."

She laughed and walked into him, letting his arms crush her to him.

"I'm sorry, Ron."

He shook his head. "Don't. Let's just get there alright?"

She nodded against his chest and he let go, walking back towards the busier street.

"Ron, do you think we have enough of this money? I only brought enough for food."

Ron shrugged. He thought that if he had to confund someone, it'd be their taxi driver.

They found a line of cars with _Taxi_ painted on them. Ron walked over trying to seem confident.

"Taxi?" the man asked eagerly, taking in Ron's paleness, his red hair and his height.

Ron nodded and held out the address he had scribbled down.

"This is far. This many." The man scribbled an amount on the paper and Ron tried not to look surprised. They had twice that.

"Ok, can you get us there in thirty minutes?" he asked, unsure of how much English this person spoke.

"Yes, yes, very quick. Come on now!" the man said cheerily, waving his hand over at Hermione.

Ron turned back and nodded to her. She approached cautiously.

"It's not too bad," Ron whispered. Hermione nodded and got into the taxi.

Very quick was a bit of an overstatement. They moved quickly on the main road for about 15 minutes but were stuck as soon as they turned off. They moved very slowly as pedestrians, dogs, bicyclists and smaller vehicles moved in and out of traffic in no real pattern or plan.

Ron could see the tightness etched into Hermione's face. She looked as old as his mum.

"Um, sir?" he asked, "How much longer?"

The driver nodded, "Very quick. No problem."

Ron leaned over and whispered. "I'm starting to think he doesn't know what quick means." Hermione didn't say anything.

"If I do something risky will you go mental?"

Hermione shook her head tightly and Ron knew she was desperate to reach the portkey. Ron sighed and pulled some money out of his coat, then he drew his wand.

"We'll get out here sir," Ron said and the man actually looked back at them, still driving and almost hit some kids that ran in front of his car. Hermione let out a small scream.

"Almost there!" he said cheerily.

"Stop!" Ron yelled and the man slammed his brakes, looking back at them, confused. Then Ron pointed his wand at the man and said, "_Confundo,"_ threw the money on the passenger seat, grabbed Hermione's arm and Disapparated them.

They appeared in the small alley where the port key was supposed to be located. Before they could look though, they had a bigger problem. Standing directly across from them in the alley, were two small children, eyes wide and mouths agape at the two strange looking people who had just appeared out of nowhere in front of them.

"Um, Hermione?"

Hermione gave the children a sideways glance before shouting "There! Ron, come on!"

He turned his head to see Hermione thrusting the old newspaper into his hand.

"But, muggles, Hermione!" But before he could even think to draw his wand the port key was aglow and they were gone.

They landed in Jakarta and Ron was pleased to be met with nothing but empty silence surrounding him. He wondered if those children were now telling their parents about the strange white people that had popped in and out of existence like ghosts. No one was likely to believe them.

"Can I have some of that?" he asked and she held out the nausea tonic she was drinking, looking rather green and irritated.

"S'alright, Hermione," he said after taking a swig of the potion. His stomach settled immediately.

Ron went to put his arm around her and she shrugged it off. He sighed.

"You ready to go?"

Hermione nodded and walked past him, eyes squinting in the bright sun and brow furrowed.

Their three mile walk turned out to be pretty entertaining. It took them down a main drag on the beach, past shops and food stalls.

"Hermione, do we have any money?"

She furrowed her brow and peered into the beaded bag, then with some rummaging, pulled out a wad of bills labeled "Jakarta".

"Here," she said tersely, handing over the money.

"You want something?" he asked, stopping to look over the photos of food at a cart that was roasting different meats.

She shook her head. "I want to get to the port key first. So we know where it is. Then maybe we can get lunch."

Ron sighed and nodded. After Colombo he agreed that this would be the best course of action, though his stomach grumbled mutinously.

After another half hour they were there. The port key was easily found, an empty tin of lychees wedged under behind a dumpster.

"Ok, so lunch then?" Ron said, turning back towards the collection of food stands along the waterfront.

When Hermione didn't respond he turned back. She looked very pale now and was rubbing her stomach distractedly.

"Hermione?"

"Hmm? Oh, alright, sure," she said quietly.

Ron made to take her hand but again she pulled away. Ron tried not to let her distance get to him. Experience had told him that Hermione got very upset in situations such as this, especially when she was hungry.

Ron momentarily forgot about Hermione's standoffishness as he sampled a variety of roasted meats on sticks, grilled fruit and vegetables and a large beer with oranges in it. Hermione did not seem interested in the cuisine and opted for only water and some fruit salad.

Ron sipped his beer as they sat on their bench, watching the sunset. "I like it here," he said cheerily, trying to make conversation with the irritated looking Hermione.

She nodded distractedly, looking at her list.

"Time to go," she finally said, ten minutes later and Ron knocked back the rest of his beer.

Hermione just frowned and grabbed the port key, holding it out for Ron to grasp. He took it and they disappeared into nothingness once again.

They landed with a thud and Ron felt his stomach lurch, all those grilled meats and beer threatening to make a reappearance.

"We are flying back, Hermione. I don't care how long I'm cooped up in that aeroplane I'm never taking that many port keys again!" he groaned, clutching his bubbling stomach as they walked to their hotel.

"It's just plane, or airplane, Ron. People don't say aer-o-plane," Hermione snapped.

Ron took several deep breaths. He knew that Hermione must be tense about collecting her parents. He also knew that she hated traveling as much as he did, though she didn't complain as much. That being said, he was becoming more and more intolerant of Hermione's cold behaviour. _Didn't she realize he just wanted to help?_

"So, just pop in to the hotel and then maybe go grab a bite?"Ron said casually after a few minutes of walking in silence.

"Ron you just ate."

"That was lunch! It's well past eleven now!"

"That's only because of the time change, Ron! We ate an hour ago!"

"I ate an hour ago…" he muttered and she spun to look at him.

"Listen, _I_ need to find the hotel, change out of these filthy clothes, have a shower and try to get some sleep. I know the time change is a lot to adjust to but I just need you to hold it together, can you do that _Ron_?"

Ron took a step back from her, speechless. He couldn't remember a time when she had spoken to him in such a condescending way. When he didn't respond she turned away, walking in the direction of the hotel.

He followed a few steps behind her, trying to suppress the anger and frustration simmering just below the surface. Hermione knew just what to say to get him riled up and he knew she wanted nothing more that to get into it with him, even if she said otherwise. It would be so easy to take the bait, but he wanted to be better.

"Are you coming?!" Hermione snapped at him.

"Yeah," he said calmly, walking faster now to catch up.

About five minutes of silent walking later, they reached their destination.

"Now, listen Ron, let me do the talking. Don't touch anything and try not to act surprised by the electricity," she said bossily, and Ron couldn't take it any longer.

"No, you listen, you need to come over here with me for a second," he said, trying to keep his voice low and even.

"I'm sorry, what?" she countered, her arms crossing tightly over her chest in defense.

"Now," he said, grabbing her by the elbow and steering her around to the side of the hotel. It was a narrow dead end street and there were no other people around.

"What?" she hissed, looking annoyed.

"Hermione, do you love me?"

"What are you talking about Ronald? Of course I do!" The way she said it made Ron wonder if it was true.

"Well, I love you too, but I can only take so much of this. I'm trying to be helpful and supportive but nothing I do seems to be right."

There was a pregnant pause before Hermione's mouth was crushed against his own in a passionate kiss.

_Wow that worked great_, Ron thought as he embraced her in the small alley. After a few moments of heated bliss, Ron was the one to pull away. Hermione looked wildly sexy, her lips parted and wet and her breath ragged.

"Now, if you can behave yourself, maybe we can go check in to our hotel, yeah?" Ron teased but then gulped as Hermione bit her lip and nodded.

Their hotel room was simple, but very clean, though it smelled weird to Ron, like a hospital. He wrinkled his nose but then was distracted as Hermione threw her clothes unceremoniously on the floor.

"Ugh, I feel disgusting!" she exclaimed, pulling her tangled hair back from her face and walking towards the bathroom. As she lifted her arms Ron glimpsed the faint blue mark that was nestled between her breasts.

"Hang on a mo'!" he said hastily, grabbing her arm and pulling her close.

"Not now Ron, I need a shower. I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier but I'm really not feeling well."

He felt disappointed, but this time understanding won out.

"Aww, s'alright. I think a shower and some dinner will put you right." Ron rubbed her shoulders and felt her relax under his touch.

"Thanks," she said, then gave him a light kiss and sauntered to the bathroom. At least that was the word he thought of as he watched her bare backside sway away from him.

Now that he was alone, Ron touched everything. He was just about to turn on the television when he heard Hermione exclaim "Yes!" from behind the closed bathroom door.

Ron wrinkled his brow, wondering what could be happening in there that was so exciting.

"Um, you alright Hermione?" he called through the door. He heard the shower start up before Hermione called, "Fine Ron!"

Ron shrugged and sat on the bed, kicking off his shoes and using the robot controller to turn on the television.

Ten minutes later Ron was completely engrossed in a series of short programs that just talked about products and food you buy at local shops when Hermione came out of the bathroom in a pair of orange pyjama bottoms and a vest. Ron's eyes were pulled from the screen by her appearance and followed her slowly as she dug in her bag for two sandwiches.

"You look great," Ron said and Hermione smirked at him.

"What?" he asked, accepting the proffered sandwich from her hand and taking a large bite. Hermione just shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"Doesn't take much, does it? Just a sandwich and your old Chudley Canons pyjamas!"

Ron laughed with his mouth full. He loved when she was feigning exasperation. It was much nicer than when she was actually irritated with him.

"Come here," he said, after swallowing a large bite of what he was very pleased to discover was not corned beef.

She walked over, still holding her own uneaten sandwich. Ron flicked his wand and summoned one of the chairs to rest in front of him.

"Sit," he said, finishing his sandwich in one more giant bite.

Hermione gave him a suspicious look and he rolled his eyes.

"Wull yeh jush-" he began but Hermione stopped him looking on the verge of being ill again.

"Chew, Ronald. I'll sit."

Ron rubbed his hands off on his jeans and then combed them through Hermione's freshly washed hair.

"Accio hairbrush," he said, then, settling himself behind her added, "Eat," and began brushing her hair out.

Ron knew that all of his brothers, Harry, and probably even Ginny would take the piss if they knew how much he liked taming Hermione's hair. It was like a physical representation of her personality. And if he could get it under control, well, then he could do anything.

Ron had gotten her wavy locks parted into three pieces and had just started plaiting them when Hermione giggled.

"What?" he asked, wondering if he was doing it wrong. It had been years since Ginny had asked him to do it for her.

"Nothing, you just look so serious right now. I've never seen you concentrate so much on anything!"

Ron looked up in confusion and realized that Hermione was watching him in the mirror. Her face seemed to glow and she looked much more relaxed than she had all day.

Ron grinned at her in the mirror. "Well, I don't want to screw up."

She beamed at him. "It's perfect Ron. I can't believe you know how to plait hair though."

Ron just shrugged and gave her a tight smile in the mirror. "I'm not completely useless you know," he joked but Hermione's smile quickly fell.

"Ron, you aren't useless."

Ron felt the cursed Weasley flush overtake his normally pale complexion. He didn't want to get into a long discussion about his many insecurities tonight. He reached behind him for the hairbrush and thought about anything he could change the subject to.

"So, do I even want to know what was so exciting in the bathroom earlier?" he asked as he detangled the remainder of her hair.

Hermione silently took a bite of her sandwich and shrugged. Ron didn't want her to snap at him again but he was extremely curious.

"They have your favorite shampoo or something?"

After a few more moments of silence Hermione cleared her throat. "Um, no, it's just, I got, um, my period."

Ron paused with his fingers still twisted in her hair.

"And that's exciting because…?"

He glanced at Hermione in the mirror and watched as she chewed her lip. Ron's mind was racing as a possibility crossed his mind.

"Hermione? Did you think you were pregnant?"

Hermione made to turn and look at him but his tangled fingers pulled her back.

"Ouch! Um, no, nothing like that, Ron. It's just, well, I haven't gotten it in about seven months."

"That's not normal, is it?" he asked, trying to remember anything from that health course they were forced to sit through back in 1st year. All he could remember was giggling mindlessly every time Madam Pomfrey had said 'penis'.

"No, it isn't. Usually if a woman is under a lot of stress, or loses too much weight, well, she'll stop, um, menstruating."

Ron felt sick. Not because of how candidly she was talking, but because it was this that made him fully grasp how ill Hermione had gotten in the past year. He knew how often he and Harry took Hermione's strength and wit for granted. They always assumed that everything was fine and she would take care of it.

Ron sighed and tied the elastic at the bottom of her braid.

"Hermione, I'm so sorry," he said, feeling the tears come unbidden to his eyes.

"For what?"

"For leaving you. For putting everything on you. You are a stressed out bird at the best of times but this year…" Ron looked up into her face. She was standing in front of him now looking worried.

"Ron, this year was horrible, for all of us. But it's in the past now. We just need to move forward."

Ron shook his head and scooted back on the bed, trying to make space between Hermione's calm cool demeanor and his weeping emotional one. _Wasn't this the dynamic he wanted to change? Wasn't he supposed to be there for her?_

"Hermione, I'm sorry. No, just wait, I need to say this. I'm sorry for saying you were a nightmare when we first met, for getting hacked off about Crookshanks, for not asking you to the Yule Ball and then getting all mental when you went with Krum. Hell, I'm sorry for that shite with Krum and Lavender. It was all so stupid. I should've been your first kiss and you should've been mine. And I'm so so sorry for leaving Hermione. I didn't think you would even care, if I left. You had Harry and…"

Hermione had crawled up on the bed and knelt next to him.

"Ron, Harry and I-" But he cut her off again.

"I know. I know now, anyway. I was mental from that damn locket. But it's no excuse. Even before the locket, I've been a right arsehole to you for no good reason. And I don't want to be that guy anymore. I want to be there for you. I want to help you get your parents and I want you to know I'm here to support you no matter how hard it gets. I'm never going to run away again."

Hermione's eyes were wet as she crouched next to him on the bed.

"I know Ron. And I'm trying to let you in. It's just hard for me. I'm so used to doing everything myself. But I am trying. I just need you to be patient with me. I don't act like this because I don't trust you, it's just the way things have always been. I do see you trying and I appreciate it. Just give me some time, alright?"

Ron looked at her tight-lined face and smiled.

"'Mione, are you even listening to me? I'm giving you all the time in the world, if you'll have me."

Hermione furrowed her brow. "What are you saying to me right now Ron?"

Ron wiped his face and sighed. "You know what I'm saying. I want to, you know, um…"

_What? What do I want to say right now?!_ Ron felt flush and frustrated as he tried to express his emotions. Thankfully, Hermione didn't need to hear any more.

"Me too, Ron, me too," was all she said as their lips met and they fell back against the soft pillows.

* * *

_I know what some of you might be thinking: But what about Hermione's parents?! Have no fear, there is another Australia chapter coming, from Hermione's POV this time. This chapter was more about the journey and their relationship than the actual destination. While reading Harry Potter I always wondered how Ron and Hermione transitioned from there constant quarreling and exasperation with each other to being really compatible. There had to be growth and experiences shared just between the two of them to get to that point. That was what this chapter was about. _

_I hope you enjoyed it!_

_Tomorrow is from Harry's POV and then it's back to Australia to check in with Hermione. These next chapters will be quicker, I promise!_


	20. Deliberation- Harry

_Author's Note: Special shout-out to MandyinKC for previewing this chapter! _

_I do not own Harry Potter. But you knew that already._

* * *

**May 22-Deliberation**

**Harry**

Harry awoke with a start to a loud banging on Ginny's bedroom door.

"Time to rise and shine, Ginny! We have to be at Auntie Muriel's in an hour!"

Harry reached for his wand and his glasses then Disapparated with a small _pop_ into Ron's bedroom upstairs. He flopped down onto his rarely used camp bed with a groan. _Didn't the end of Voldemort mean that he no longer had to wake in fear and sneak around?_ Mrs. Weasley wasn't evil, but she was definitely as formidable, Harry thought as he picked through the pile of forgotten clothing on Ron's floor for something that could pass as pyjamas.

Harry threw on a pair of shorts that appeared to be clean enough and an old Gryffindor Quidditch t-shirt before heading down to take a quick shower. When he reached the bathroom, however, he could hearthat the shower was already in use. Harry sighed and walked down another flight of stairs to have some coffee. His unceremonious wake up call did not put him in the best of moods.

"Morning," Bill and George said in stereo, already working through the small breakfast feast that littered the table.

Harry started. "Um, morning? What are you two doing here?" he asked, pouring himself the dredges of the coffee pot and leaning back against the counter.

George raised his eyebrows at Bill. "Oh, listen to this one, would you? Asking us what we're doing in our own home!"

Bill snorted and rolled his eyes at his younger brother. "Dad asked us to come over. He had to leave early for work today and he was worried that with Ron gone Mum'd be wont for company."

Harry nodded thoughtfully, not really listening as he watched rain patter against the windows.

"Can you believe it? Mum needs the two of us to distract from her Ickle Ronniekins absence!" George said incredulously.

Harry finished the rest of his coffee and nodded. "Yeah," he said, looking back towards the stairs and his much needed shower.

"You alright, Harry?" Bill asked and he was pulled back to the two ginger men at the table.

"Hmm? Yeah, fine. Didn't get a lot of sleep, is all."

Harry felt sweat bead on his neck as he received twin glares from Ginny's older brothers. He hadn't meant anything by what he said, but they obviously both interpreted him incorrectly.

"I'm just going to see if the shower is free…" he said, backing away towards the stairs again.

After a hasty shower, Harry pulled on his Auror robes and ran downstairs to get his bag from the living room. Ginny was at the table now, looking surly in a rather pretty frock and cardigan.

"You look nice," he said, leaning down to quickly peck her cheek as George and Bill watched suspiciously.

Ginny just grunted and picked at her eggs.

"What's the matter, Gin? Don't fancy a day spent poring over the long forgotten belongings of our dear aunt?" George said jokingly, though stopped laughing at the murderous glare he received from his younger sister.

Harry glanced at his watch and the reached over to squeeze Ginny's shoulder. "I've got to run. Leaky at five?"

Ginny gave him a tight smile and nodded. "Yeah, see ya then. Have a good day."

Harry steeled himself. _Screw these blokes. _"You too. Love you." And with that he gave her a quick kiss on the lips then Disapparated before either larger man could give him any grief.

* * *

Harry could think of a few ways to better spend a rainy Friday than flying around Little Whinging. He hadn't been back since that fateful night he had flown into an ambush in the sidecar of Hagrid's motorbike. The night Hedwig and Moody had been killed. Add those events to the collection of other unpleasant memories of his time spent at the Dursley's and no one would be surprised that he was not in a very good mood as they flew in between the clouds, surveying the area where two Death Eaters were suspected of hiding out.

"What a shithole!" Tully called as she flew up next to him. Her short blond hair was plastered to her face and her already severely arched eyebrows were furrowed against the rain.

Harry snorted. "You don't have to tell me. I grew up here!"

She smiled. "I know, you git. That's why I said it! I can't stand suburbs, give me a big city anytime, you know?"

Harry couldn't help but smile. Tully reminded him a lot of Tonks and he enjoyed scouting with her.

"Are we wasting our time out here?" he asked, checking the supersecrecy sensors that were attached to his broom for activity. Nothing.

Tully shrugged. "I'd rather be flying around than sitting in the office filing for ages. I reckon Longbottom's fingers will fall off soon, the amount of paperwork Robards gives him!"

Harry frowned. "Yeah, I wonder why he's always the one to file everything."

Tully raised her eyebrows at him. "Do you really, Potter? We all know why Longbottom is on desk duty, and why you are sent out on every ruddy dead end field mission and anonymous tip."

"You want to fill me in on that?"

Tully rolled her eyes and pulled her broom sideways, veering off towards the park where Harry had grown up being bullied by Dudley and his friends or watching them bully others. Reluctantly, he followed.

They landed and Harry jogged behind her as they found shelter at a covered picnic table.

"Robards is keeping you two apart. He suspects that something happened at the Bristol raid that wasn't up to code-I don't need an explanation!" she added when Harry looked to interrupt. "I'm just sayin', Robards is suspicious. He thinks Longbottom isn't quite right after the war but the Minister won't hear anything against him. And well, you're the ruddy Chosen One, ain't ya? Only makes sense if you are the at the forefront of all Auror-related operations."

Harry looked around before waving his wand and drying himself off. "Robards is too suspicious. Nothing happened at that raid except what we all told everyone."

Tully sniffed. "Don't lie to me Potter. I know what happened and I'm not bothered. Lestrange got what was coming to him. End of story. But you need to be careful. I know Robards is just looking for a reason to sack Longbottom and if you ended up getting seriously injured on a raid and had to take some time off, well, I don't think he'd be too fussed about it."

Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You know, I'll be really pleased when the day comes that no one wishes me bodily harm."

Tully laughed. "Yeah, I gotta say I don't envy ya. Just keep your head down and do the raids. I think once Longbottom leaves Robards will let up on ya. Maybe."

Harry sighed and looked at his watch. It was almost five. "Listen, you want to head back to the Ministry? We aren't going to find anything new today. I'll write up the report."

Tully shook her head. "Nah, I'll do it. Why don't you clear off? I'm staying late anyway."

Harry nodded absentmindedly, looking off down the street that led to his old home. Privet Drive.

"Yeah, alright, cheers. Have a good weekend."

Tully mounted her broom. "You too. Give Teddy Bear a kiss for me, yeah?"

Harry chuckled. His godson was becoming more of a celebrity than he was in familiar circles. _Thank Merlin. _

"Sure thing. Hey would you take my broom back with you? I'll just Apparate."

Tully nodded and strapped his broom to hers then took off, the disillusionment charm cloaking her immediately.

Harry could have turned on the spot right there, but instead he began walking. He walked the path he had done for over ten years of his life, as soon as the Dursley's decided he was old enough to get out of their hair. Minutes later he found himself standing in front of the old single family home. It looked dingier than he remembered it, though it was structurally sound. The Muggle Rehabilitation Committee had seen to that. Inside he could see that several lights were on. Dudley and Aunt Petunia were likely about, though Uncle Vernon would be at work for another hour at least.

Harry didn't know what compelled him to knock at the door but there he was, rapping lightly as the light drizzle of summer rain coated his robes. Seconds later he was face-to-face with Aunt Petunia, whose complexion paled at the sight of him.

"Petunia," he said politely and she frowned tightly.

"You can't be here," she whispered, looking worried. Her voice didn't sound harsh, but it was more pleading.

"Oh, um, sorry. I was in the neighborhood so…"

"Petunia, who's at the door?" he heard his uncle's voice call. It sounded different somehow, slower.

"You have to go," she whispered, then actually reached out and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder, pushing him lightly away from the door.

"No one, darling. Just a surveyour!"

Harry heard Uncle Vernon grunt before the door was lightly closed in Harry's face. He cast a disillusionment charm on himself before sneaking around the back to investigate. Something wasn't right.

Harry peered into the kitchen window and was met with a curious sight. Aunt Petunia's kitchen was messy. That was the first sign that something was amiss. He watched as his Aunt walked into the kitchen and plopped down on a stool at the breakfast counter. She then began flipping through a magazine while picking at what looked like leftover takeaway. Never in his life had Harry seen her in anything less than a spotless kitchen, making home-cooked food for her spoiled son and commanding husband. Harry was perplexed and wondered what exactly had happened to his relatives over the last nine months that would cause such a shift in behavior from his normally meticulous and fussy aunt. He didn't see Dudley, but he could just make out Uncle Vernon in the living room, sitting in front of the television. Things became even stranger when he watched Uncle Vernon make his way to the kitchen. The strange thing about this was that he didn't get out of his chair. In fact, the chair was what moved him into the kitchen. At first Harry gaped, thinking he was seeing magic, but then he realized, it was a wheelchair.

Harry took several hasty steps back from the window, his mind spinning with confusion. Surely if his relatives had been injured while in hiding Dedalus or Hestia would've contacted him, even if they didn't have the best relationship. Needing to know what was going on Harry walked around to where Dudley's bedroom window was. He scribbled a hasty note and levitated it up to Dudley's window. A minute later, Dudley appeared, looking wide-eyed and frightened.

"Harry?" he whispered into the rain and Harry removed his disillusionment charm.

"Big D," he replied, trying to smile but failing. Dudley's face showed many emotions, but settled on fear. Harry was a little surprised that after spending a year around wizards constantly doing magic he'd still be afraid of it.

"Shh, I'll meet you at the corner," he said, then disappeared back into his room.

Harry crept around to the front of the house again and walked hurriedly to the end of the block. Five minutes later Dudley was running down the street towards him. The only word Harry could think of to describe his cousin was slender. He couldn't believe it. Dudley had always either been morbidly obese or hulking and muscular. While he still looked fit, he was considerably slimmer than Harry had ever seen him.

"What are you doing here?" Dudley asked immediately in lieu of a greeting.

"In the neighborhood, for work. What's going on?" Harry asked, still perplexed by the events surrounding his Aunt and Uncle.

Dudley looked back over his shoulder as if expecting to see them now.

"Come on," Dudley said and started walking quickly towards the high street.

They settled into a booth at the back of a pub where Harry had eaten with the Dursley's only once before, when Mrs. Figg was unable to look after him at the last minute.

Once they had drinks in front of them Dudley seemed to pull himself together.

"I suppose congratulations are in order," he began, sounding a bit like Vernon when he took a business call at home.

Harry shook his head. "Nevermind that. What happened to your Dad?"

Dudley deflated. "Had a stroke, four months ago. I think the stress of everything got to him finally. Well that and his cholesterol. Doctor said he was amazed it hadn't happened years ago, he took such bad care of himself."

Harry had goosebumps. Some of his aunt's behavior made sense now. She was likely afraid that seeing Harry would cause undue stress.

"Blimey, sorry Dudley. And Petunia?"

Dudley shrugged. "Mum's ok. I mean, as good as can be expected. Dad's been getting better, but they don't think he'll ever get out of that chair. Now that we're back home and you are gone I think she's finally relaxing a bit."

Dudley gave him a tight smile and took a long pull of ale. Harry's first impulse was to be offended. He had never actually been a burden to his aunt and uncle, though they had treated him like one for sixteen years. He was about to say as such but then realized it didn't matter. He was done letting the Dursleys get to him.

"Well, I suppose that's good. How was it, I mean, other than Vernon, um I mean, your dad. I haven't heard anything about what happened since you left with the Order."

Dudley sighed, knocked back the rest of his mug of beer and then signaled for another.

"I don't want to sound like a prat or anything, but it was bloody rough. I know you were out risking your neck the whole time and fighting in a war, while I was holed up in a pretty nice home, but it was miserable."

Harry couldn't help but laugh.

"No telly, then?"

Dudley also snorted. "No telly, no electricity, no telephone. Just me, Mum, Dad and a various collection of wizards. Dedalus was pretty alright. He would tell me stories when he came round, about the war, Voldemort, your parents, you. It was sort of weird, because he would tell me all these things and I'd imagine a totally different guy, some hero in a story or something. But it was just you. My specky little git of a cousin."

Harry laughed and shook his head. "Yeah, it's pretty mental. I don't feel like that person. Likely Dedalus was exaggerating a bit."

"Well, either way, I know it was rough. Mum pulled it together pretty quickly. She obsessively gardened and just drank a lot of wine. Dad was the worst though. He complained about everything, hated everyone, would yell anytime anyone did magic. At times I thought your ears must've been ringing with how much he cursed you. Then he turned on Mum, blaming her for taking you in, for having a witch as a sister. As if that was her fault! Um, so around Christmas, well, I think she'd had enough. I overheard her one day talking to Hestia about being relocated, just me and her. I think she was planning on leaving him."

Harry gaped at Dudley. Never would he had thought of them being separated, let alone divorced. They were perfect for each other, as much as two imperfect people could be.

"So what happened? I mean, did they work it out?"

Dudley shrugged. "Dunno. Few weeks later Dad had the stroke and I never heard anything about relocating again."

Harry stared into his glass, thinking about this new information. Part of him wanted to care about his uncle's stroke, about the troubled marriage and the unraveling of his aunt. He tried to rustle up any empathy or sadness or pity. But he didn't feel anything.

They sat in silence for a while, each drinking and glancing at each other awkwardly. Harry wasn't sure how to move on without seeming insensitive. Finally Dudley spoke.

"So, I'm leaving for Uni in the fall. I'm relieved, being in that house again is a nightmare. What are you up to?"  
Harry exhaled in relief and Dudley laughed.

"Sorry, I didn't know how to change the subject. Um, I'm working, as an Auror, that's a-"

"I know what an Auror is!" Dudley said, excitedly. "It's like a secret agent, yeah? Like James Bond or something? Getting bad guys?"

Harry smirked. "Something like that, yeah. So I've been doing that since the war ended."

"That's brilliant. I bet it's nice, having your own place and a career already set up."

Harry furrowed his brow. "Um, actually I'm living with the Weasley's. Ron's family, you know?"

Dudley furrowed his brow. "Oh, I thought you had a house."

"Um yeah, sort of. I mean, it's my godfather's house. I don't really like it."

"You gonna sell it? If it were up to me, I'd get an apartment in London. But I'm going to be living at school, in the dorms. I'm so tired of living with other people, you know? I just want to be alone!"

Harry gave him a tight smile, his mind racing. Why hadn't he even considered getting an apartment? Maybe because he was so used to being around the Weasley's that he hadn't considered anything else. Perhaps it was because he still felt guilty for Fred. Maybe because sharing a bed with Ginny was preferable to being alone with his nightmares.

"Yeah, um, I understand that. I might look into it, once Ginny's back at school."

"Who's Ginny?"

"Huh? Oh, she's my girlfriend. Ron's sister, actually."

Dudley gave him an impressed look. "You live with your girlfriend's parents? Isn't that weird?"

Harry thought about it. He wouldn't exactly categorize it as weird, but he was definitely starting to feel the strain. "Nah, not really. I mean, they are practically my family. And you know, once Ginny and I are married they'll-"

"Married?!" Dudley yelled, but then seemed to realize people were looking at them and quieted down. "Blimey Harry, you aren't even eighteen! How could you even think about marriage?"

Harry smiled and shrugged. "It's not really an issue for me. I mean, I'm not proposing tomorrow or anything, but I can't see myself being with anyone else."

Dudley just goggled at him.

"What about you? Girlfriend? _Boyfriend?"_ Harry added with a touch of sarcasm. Dudley flipped him a rude hand gesture.

"Fuck off, git. But no, no girlfriend. Hard to get a date when you are on the run."

Harry smiled. "Indeed it is. You'll probably have more luck at school."

Dudley grinned and whispered, "I hope so. For a while I thought I'd die a virgin!"

Harry laughed so hard that tears came out his eyes. He, too, had had a similar thought when he was on the run last year and, though he'd never admit it, when he was walking into the Forbidden Forest to meet Voldemort. Harry was sure he was going to die and in between thoughts of Ginny, Ron and Hermione, his stupid one-track mind kept thinking of the fact that he'd never had sex before. Hearing someone else say it was like a weight off his shoulders.

Harry held his glass up, still chuckling and said, "To not dying a virgin!"

"Cheers!" Dudley said, also laughing, and they drank.

* * *

Harry Apparated into the Leaky Cauldron and made his way downstairs. He found Ginny and Luna at a booth, giggling about something that was sure to make him uncomfortable. He looked at Ginny for a few moments before her eyes found his and she smiled warmly at him. He waved at her and then made his way over to the bar.

"Alright, Hannah?"

Hannah looked around. "Hiya Harry!" she beamed, pouring him his usual butterbeer. "You want a private booth?"

Harry smiled and shook his head. "No, it's fine, thanks. Just put all their stuff under my tab, alright?" he asked, pointing to the two girls. Hannah nodded and then with a wave of her wand piled a tray high with mugs of mead and headed towards a crowded table. Harry grabbed the butterbeer and made his way over to Ginny and Luna.

"Alright, ladies?"

"Oh, hello Harry!" Luna said, getting up to hug him. "I'm glad you're here. I didn't want to leave Ginny alone, but I really need to leave. Daddy's making a special meal for Neville on Sunday and I promised I'd help him clean up the house today."

Harry stifled a laugh. He thought he'd warn Neville to eat beforehand and practice a silent vanishing charm.

"Um, brilliant. Well good to see you!"

"Bye!" Luna said and Harry took her vacated seat, leaning over the long table to kiss Ginny before settling down.

"Hi, you taste like booze already," Ginny said, giving him a sly look.

"Yeah, um, I actually had a few with Dudley."

Ginny's brow furrowed. "Dudley...Dursley?"

Harry took a large gulp of butterbeer. It tasted sickly sweet after all the lager.

"Yeah."

Ginny waited for him to elaborate but instead he changed the subject.

"So I was thinking, um, about me, maybe,

getting an apartment somewhere…" he trailed off, assessing her expression. It was blank.

"An apartment? When?"

Harry shrugged. "Dunno. I mean, most leases start on the first, don't they? So if I find something nice, maybe this coming month, or next?"

"What about me?" she said, looking flush.

"Huh? Well, yeah, I mean, I hoped you would look at them with me. That way when you are out of school you could, I dunno, stay there."

Ginny's brow furrowed sharply and Harry felt tense. The last thing he wanted was to upset her.

"Listen, it's not set in stone or anything, it was just an idea."

Ginny was quiet for a few moments, tracing her fingers over the random graffiti dug into the table.

"Ginny?" he finally said and she looked up at him, smirking slightly.

"I reckon I'm just jealous. I'm still stuck there with them and it's so ruddy depressing. I don't blame you for wanting to leave."

Harry sighed and reached for Ginny's hand across the table. He knew who she meant and he had to agree. Sometimes at night he would be walking to the bathroom and would overhear Mr. Weasley consoling his sobbing wife. This wasn't the reason he had come to his decision, but it would be nice to not feel bad when he felt cheerful.

"I'll still be over all the time. And you can stay with me as much as you want, honestly."

Ginny shook her head. "Mum isn't going to let me stay with you Harry."

Harry shrugged. "You'll be of age soon enough."

Ginny nodded, but didn't looked convinced. "What about Ron? He won't be too keen on his little sister being around all the time."

Harry frowned. "What do you mean? What about Ron?"

"Well, um, you two would be moving in together, yeah?"

Harry gaped at her and laughed. "Have you been listening to me at all, Gin? I'm finally able to live alone for the first time in my life. I don't want to live with Ron or Hermione, I know what's that like. I just want some peace and privacy. At least for a little while."

"And then?"

Harry felt his cheeks get warm. He had been so cavalier when discussing his relationship with Dudley, but now, talking about those same possibilities with the girl involved made him uncomfortable.

"Well, I was thinking, that after you graduate, maybe you'd want to live, um, together?"

Ginny gave him a small smile but averted her eyes.

"Maybe," she said slyly.

"Maybe? Why maybe?"

Ginny patted his hand lightly.

"Harry, I've never been alone either. Maybe I want some time by myself too, ever think of that?"

Harry furrowed his brow. He hadn't thought of that. And he didn't like it.

"Oh right, sorry," he muttered, playing with his drink.

Suddenly Ginny laughed and he looked up. "I'm just joking, you prat! You are so serious sometimes!"

Harry cheered tremendously at the sight of Ginny smiling widely across the table from him.

"I love you," he said, squeezing her hands.

"Yeah, I know," she said.

* * *

"Hello!" Ginny shouted, then giggled as Harry grabbed her around the waist and lifted her onto the dining room table.

"Shhh, Ginny, what if they're sleeping?" he said, though he was now running his fingers through her long hair and kissing her rosy cheeks. Though Ginny was not of age, Hannah was lenient on who drank the mead that Harry kept ordering that night.

"If they are in bed, my guess is that a sleeping draft was involved. It's only nine o'clock!" She hiccuped and kissed him, biting his lip playfully, yet painfully.

"Ow! Dammit Ginny!" he complained, though he secretly liked it. He just wished he could relax. At any moment someone could walk in on them, and it wouldn't just be awkward. "Can we go upstairs first, please?"

Ginny nodded. "You want to Apparate us?"

Harry snorted with laughter. "You are so lazy!" he said, but gripped her tightly and Apparated them into her room.

Ginny stumbled when he let her go and hiccuped again. "Oof, too much mead, I think!" she said, flopping back on her bed fully clothed.

Harry approached her and assisted with the removal of all uncomfortable articles of clothing, which happened to be everything but her knickers. He then stripped down to his vest and shorts and tucked himself in next to her. Ginny automatically turned so her head was tucked under his chin. He couldn't help but smile.

"So, are you going to tell me about the Dursleys or do you have to talk to Ron and Hermione about it first?"

Ginny made it sound like a joke but Harry knew it was a dig. He sighed. "I wasn't, it's not like that Ginny."

Ginny shrugged and pushed herself closer to his neck. When she spoke next Harry could feel her lips against his earlobe.

"What's it like then?"

Harry didn't want to think about the Dursley's anymore. He had admitted enjoyed spending some time with Dudley now that he wasn't constantly being awful, but one couldn't simply forget a decade and a half of abuse after nine months of absence.

"Vernon had a stroke. He's alive, but in a wheelchair. I think Petunia might've become an alcoholic, though Dudley says she's coping. He also said something about her leaving him though so who knows? Dudley seems ok though. Less of a wanker, that's for sure."

Ginny pulled herself from him and looked him over.

"I feel like I should say I'm sorry, but considering who we're talking about..."

Harry smiled. "That's exactly how I feel about it. Does that make me a bad person? I mean, I don't wish them ill, but at the same time I just don't care."

In the dim light of the room Harry could see Ginny smile and shake her head.

"You are not a bad person, Harry. They're the one's who are bad, or at least they have been bad, to you. You did a good thing by sending them into hiding. Don't be so hard on yourself."

Harry sighed and squeezed her tightly to him. On one hand, he really wanted some privacy, but on the other hand, if he moved out he would miss this.

"I just keep thinking about my mum, you know? She sacrificed herself to keep me alive and her sister agreed to take me in, no matter how horribly she treated me. Don't you think my mum would want me to help them somehow? Wouldn't she want me to be better?"

Ginny just shrugged. "I can't tell you what she would want from you, Harry. But I do know that we are your family and no one expects any more from you than what you want to give. If you want to help the Dursleys, I'll support you. If not, well, I don't think anyone would blame you, honestly."

Harry nodded against Ginny's head as he felt his eyes grow heavy. He had a lot to think about, but it could wait. He had time.

* * *

_A/N 2: As usual thank you for reading and reviewing! Your feedback really helps to keep me writing! _

_Hermione's chapter will be next as we head back to Australia. I'm hoping to finish this one quicker than I did Ron's chapter. Thanks for your patience!_


	21. Determination- Hermione

_Author's Note: Well here it is, the final chapter in Australia. I've read some fics that have them there for weeks and weeks and some that take care of it in the background. I wanted to fall somewhere in between. Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

**May 23- Determination**

**Hermione**

"I don't understand," Hermione said, looking again into the darkened windows of the house the Australian Ministry confirmed belonged to the Wilkins'. They had been by several times the day before and it wasn't until Hermione nodded off sitting on her parents steps that she agreed they could go back to the hotel for the night. Today they started out at the dental offices her parents both worked at, but they were both closed. Ron insisted they then stop by the Ministry to check and see if anyone had returned their owls from the day before.

They had gotten a letter from Kingsley who said that as far as his intelligence was concerned, Hermione's parents were indeed still in Australia and no one under the name Wilkins or Granger had booked a flight in the last two weeks from Australia to London.

Now they were back at the small cottage-like home that still showed no signs of life. Hermione was just about to break in when she heard a voice behind her.

"Can I help you with something love?"

She turned to see an older woman with sandy hair and tanned leathery skin strolling down the walkway of the house next door.

"Um, maybe, I'm looking for my aunt. Monica Wilkins? Have you seen her?"

The woman furrowed her brow.

"Not today. Sometimes she works at the free clinic on the weekend. Or she's out with the hubby on the boat. Her niece you say?" the woman said, walking around the low hedge to get a better look at her.

Hermione averted her eyes and nodded. "Yes, um, you see, my mum, she gave me the address. I'm on holiday and I thought I'd just pop by and surprise her!" Hermione tried to convey a fun, carefree attitude but the anxiety was eating her from the inside.

The woman put a hand on her narrow hip and gave Hermione a once over. "You look quite like her don'tcha? Well like I said, she might be at the clinic or the docks. I can give ya the addresses if you like."

Hermione glanced sideways at where Ron was making himself scarce by the parked cars then nodded at the woman.

"Please, that'd be helpful."

"No problem," the woman said, digging in her bag for a scrap of paper and a pen. She jotted the two addresses down and gave them to Hermione.

"You need a ride anywhere? I'm headed to the beach myself."

Hermione shook her head absentmindedly as she looked over the addresses on the paper. "No thank you, we have transportation already."

The woman shrugged. "Alright then, good luck! I'll keep an eye out for them. What's your name doll?"

"Um, Jean," she answered quickly, it being the first name she thought of.

"Enjoy the weather, Jean! Maybe I'll see you later!"

Hermione looked up and saw the woman giving her a tight smile full of concern. Hermione smiled widely and waved. "Goodbye, thank you."

The woman returned the wave and walked past Ron to climb into a beat up looking sedan. Hermione found herself staring at Ron for a moment. He looked wrong somehow. Tense and alert, but worried. She waved at him to come over and he started.

"What'd she say?" Ron asked as he approached, taking the paper containing the addresses from Hermione's outstretched hand.

"We have a few leads on Mum but I didn't think to ask about Dad. She said they might be together on their boat."

"They have a boat?" Ron asked, sounding impressed.

"I suppose so. They've been here for over a year. Makes sense they might make a permanent purchase."

Ron nodded but was frowning.

"What is it Ron?"

He shook his head. "Nothing, just trying to figure out what's going on. I think we should have a look inside. It seems strange that they wouldn't come home last night."

"We don't know that they didn't come home. We left around midnight. Maybe they made a late night of it?"

Ron shook his head slightly. "Um, see, after you fell asleep last night, I, well, I came by."

She gave him a stern look. _He had left her alone when two of her loved ones were already missing? _"When?" was all she said, even though her mind was racing.

"Three in the morning. That's when you sleep the soundest. And I figured if they were coming in late or leaving early, well, they'd be home at three."

Though she was annoyed at him for leaving her alone she had to agree with his logic. "Right, let's go in," she said, steeling herself. _If they were harmed... _Hermione whispered "Alohamora," looking over her shoulder once more before pushing the door open and stepping inside. She tread on something immediately. Ron leaned down and picked up a few envelopes.

"Mail," Hermione said, flipping through some bills and circulars. "Maybe from yesterday? Or Friday? It's not really much." She was trying to remain levelheaded but her heart was pounding faster and a familiar tightness was forming in her chest.

Ron must've sensed her unraveling because he squeezed her shoulder firmly. "Don't react yet, let's see what else there is."

What else there was Hermione found in the kitchen. She walked into the kitchen and saw a small tea service had been placed in the middle of the table. It contained a small cup of cream that was warm and had gone off, but wasn't too far-gone. There were also some stale sugar free biscuits and some melted butter. At one chair was a bathrobe, draped over the back. The other chair was pushed out and there was a book open on the table in front of it.

"What the hell?" Ron said, looking around. He opened the refrigerator and picked up a few things. "Nothing's off in here," he said.

"No," Hermione said, running her hand over the tablecloth. "They haven't been gone long. Maybe a day. This is their evening tea."

"How do you know?" Ron asked, flipping through mail that was already opened.

"They're my parents, Ron. Even if they think they are different people, they likely have the same habits. They have tea around 8pm every evening. Dad takes a shower, and comes down in his bathrobe," she gripped the material over the back of the chair, "and mum reads a book or writes. It looks like something interrupted their tea."

"I'll go check the rest of the house. Wait here," Ron said and he ran out of the room with his wand pointed purposefully. Hermione felt like she was seeing Ron the Auror right now, not Ron the Boyfriend and she wasn't sure which one she needed more.

"No sign of a struggle," Ron said, optimistically, returning moments later.

Hermione was flummoxed. She couldn't figure out what had happened to make her parents leave their home so suddenly. And more worryingly, not return for at least two days. She sighed and sat in her mother's abandoned chair. Ron put the mail down and walked over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"What do you think?" she asked, picking up her mother's book and flipping through it.

Ron shrugged. "Could be a couple things. I dunno if they answer the whole 'leaving suddenly and for days' problem. But I suppose that we could check the hospital..."

She dropped the book and looked up at him, tears filling her eyes. _He had a point. What if one of them had been injured, or had heart failure, or worse..._

Suddenly Ron glanced at the table and reached over her to pick up the book she had just discarded.

"Honestly Ron, it's not like that book is going to give you clues about where they are!" she reprimanded, sniffing. In response he shoved the book in Hermione's face. It had opened to the title page when she dropped it and there was an inscription there. It read,

_"This is my favorite book that we ever read together. I'm taking the original to school with me but I thought you'd like your own. _

_Happy birthday!_

_Your favorite daughter,_

_Hermione"_

"But-" _How was this possible? _She had been sure that every vestige of her existence had been eliminated. Hadn't she even checked this book, which had been their regular read since she was seven years old?

"Do you think she knew it was for her?" Ron asked, looking about as bewildered as Hermione felt.

She shook her head. "I don't know. She shouldn't know. This shouldn't even be here. I swear I checked it. Ron, I swear. I don't know what's going on."

Hermione felt the familiar feeling of anxiety that came and went over the last year overtake her. She tried to inhale deeply but could only make shallow breaths.

"No, no, no, it's ok Hermione, just breathe. Just breathe." Ron had crouched down so they were eye to eye and rubbed her back as he spoke softly to her. She took a few long, slow breaths and calmed down, though she was thinking quickly.

"Do you think this has something to do with their absence?" she asked, running her finger over the inscription she had written seven years ago.

"Dunno. But it doesn't look like there was a struggle or a fight, or even any injury. Let's go check the places that woman told us about, and then if they still aren't back we can take more drastic measures, yeah?"

Hermione nodded distractedly, wondering when Ron had become the levelheaded one in the relationship. He took her hand and pulled her from the chair. She placed the book back down and let him walk her back out the front door.

They were walking back to the park they had been using to Apparate when they saw two people rushing in their direction. The one in the front was a woman, thin and very tan, with reading glasses pushed up into a short, spiky blonde haircut. She was being followed quickly by a man. A man in plaid pyjama bottoms and a gray t-shirt.

Ron pulled Hermione quickly behind a parked car before they were seen by the familiar looking couple.

"Monica, will you wait?!"

"We need to go back to England. I'm going. You can stay here if you want."

The woman looked fiercely determined as she pulled her hand from the man's grasp and stalked towards the house Hermione and Ron had just vacated.

"Can't you wait?! Please, honey. Let's just talk about this."

She turned and huffed, crossing her arms in a way that Hermione realized was an exact replica of how she looked when she was flustered with Ron.

"Wendell, I can't explain it. I know I'm acting crazy. But I have to figure this out."

"Monica, we don't have a daughter. That note isn't to you. It's just a used book."

Her mother shook her head stubbornly. "No, I got that book new. It was a birthday present."

"Ok, from whom?" he asked, as though they were getting somewhere.

"From Hermione!" she yelled and then started walking away. Hermione made to run after them but Ron grabbed her hand tightly. She turned and looked at him, seeing her own fear and disbelief mirrored on his face.

"Just wait."

She nodded and watched as he slowly approached the arguing couple.

"How can you say I'm not being compassionate, Mon?!" Hermione heard her father yell. "I let you drive me around this wretched continent for two days! I stayed in that hotel with you last night, no questions asked, because you said you needed to be there! And then today you say you need to go home! What on earth is going on with you?!"

Hermione exhaled and drew her wand, keeping it tucked under her sleeve. She could see Ron slowly waking towards them and after he was a few paces ahead she followed slowly.

She watched as Ron got closer to her parents and said, "Um, excuse me, is everything alright?"

Hermione saw her mother give him a hard confused look and then her father said curtly, "Yes, son, my wife is just distressed, you don't need-"

"You!" Hermione's mother screamed, seeing her walking behind Ron. Her mother leapt past Ron and ran to meet her. Hermione thought about stunning her but out of the corner of her eye she saw there were several neighbors who had been brought out by the yelling.

Thankfully didn't need to because when they were face to face her mother stopped short, taking in Hermione's terrified face and clapping a hand over her own mouth with a choked sob.

"What? But...I don't..." she gasped, reaching out to Hermione with a shaky hand.

"Mum?" she whispered quietly. Her mother sobbed again and grabbed Hermione's shoulder, pulling her into a very tight hug.

"Oh, god!" her mother sobbed, holding her tightly, "Oh, Hermione my baby, my baby," she muttered, still crying as she gripped her daughter tightly.

Hermione was sobbing now, too. She had no idea how her mother knew it was her, but at that moment all that mattered was that she did and they were reunited.

"Um, Hermione?" she heard Ron say and looked up from her mum's shoulder to see her father standing there looking very confused and very distressed. Here was his wife embracing a girl hat he did not seem to recognize at all.

"Mum, oh mum," she pulled back and looked at her mother, who was very red-faced and covered in tears.

"Hermione? What happened?"

"I'll tell you everything I promise. Let's go inside, ok?"

Her mother nodded and they walked hand in hand over to Ron and her dad, who was still looking at the scene almost in horror.

"Dad?" she tested, getting closer. He furrowed his brow for a moment but then shook his head. "I'm sorry, young lady, but you're mistaken. What is going on Monica?"

"I _told you_, Wendell. Let's go inside and talk. I found her. Oh my baby, I found you." Her mother squeezed her hand tightly and Hermione gave Ron a watery smile. His expression asked if he should follow and she nodded. She needed him for support. Clearly they were not out of the woods yet.

They walked into the sitting room and Jean Granger sat on the sofa next to her daughter, not unclamping her hand for a moment as she stared at her desperately. Ron took at seat in a wooden guest chair and her father stayed standing.

"Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?!" he shouted. Though Hermione knew this was a very stressed and serious time, she couldn't help but notice her father was also very tan, and very white haired. In fact his hair was almost completely white now, when it had been light brown less than a year ago.

"Um, sir, you might want to sit down," Ron suggested.

"Please, Wendell honey, sit. Let her explain."

Hermione furrowed her brow. "Um, mum? You keep calling dad Wendell."

Her mother smiled manically. "Of course dear! That's his name!"

Hermione glanced at Ron, who also looked confused. "And you are?" Ron asked.

"Me? I'm Monica! Sorry we haven't been properly introduced, who are you?"

'Erm, I'm Ron-"

"So you aren't Jean Granger?" Hermione interrupted, trying to see if the name rang a bell.

"No, of course not. Honey, what has happened to you?" her mother replied, looking worried.

"I think you are mistaken miss," her father said, looking triumphant, "We're the Wilkins. We don't know any Grangers."

Hermione felt tears again and looked to Ron. "Do it," he said quietly, nodding.

She drew her wand from her sleeve and pointed it at her father first. Before he could do or say anything she said, "_Restoro_" then she turned to her mother and said the same thing.

There was silence. Her father's eyes were wide as he stared into nothingness. His hands were out in front of him and he took a few steps back, finally collapsing into a chair in stunned silence. Her mother's eyes were closed and she was sobbing again, squeezing Hermione's hand so tight it hurt.

"Hermione?" her father finally said, looking up at her.

"Yes daddy, it's me."

Then he turned to Ron, "You're Ron Weasley. You are a complete arse."

Ron looked abashed and nodded. "Yessir."

Kevin Granger stood now and Ron pushed himself against the chair, seemingly worried he was about to get punched.

"You're a witch. You can do magic. We live in England. We have a practice in England. Oh bloody hell! Hermione, what is the meaning of this?!"

Her father almost never raised his voice, but at this moment she felt it was very much expected.

"Dad, I'm sorry. I can explain. Just..." she trailed off as her emotions overwhelmed her and she got up, pulling her hand from her mother's grasp and running to him. Kevin didn't hesitate. He pulled her close, crushing her against his chest. Kevin was now sobbing, resting his head against hers.

"Oh, sweetheart," he sobbed into her hair.

She was now embraced on the other side by her mother, and the three stood and cried for several long minutes until Hermione heard Ron clear his throat. Hermione looked up and saw him standing awkwardly in the kitchen doorway. "I made tea, if you're interested," he said, glancing frequently at Hermione's father.

"Oh, that sounds perfect dear," her mother croaked, walking over and pulling Ron into a tight hug, "You're a good boy" she sniffed, walking past him to the table.

Her father passed him by without so much as a look and then Hermione walked over to him.

"Going ok, so far, yeah?" he offered, grabbing her hand lightly.

She nodded.

"You want some time?"

"Do you mind?"

He shook his head, looking almost relieved.

"Would you wait in here though? I like knowing you're close."

"Of course."

Ron gave her a quick peck and she left the room to join her parents, who were waiting expectantly at the table. Hermione took the empty seat across from them, just noticing that it was already set for three. Ron had known.

"I don't really know where to start," she admitted, looking over that them. "Do you have any pressing questions"

"About a thousand," her father said, sounding stern.

"Kevin," Hermione's mother said, in a soothing voice, "give her a chance. How about you start at the beginning? How did we come to move to Australia without you and without knowing? That's the part that's upsetting me the most."

Hermione nodded and exhaled. She thought about just wanted she wanted to say. She wouldn't lie, but she couldn't tell them every little thing. She was still processing a lot of it herself.

Hermione decided to stick with the most pressing circumstances, reminding them about Voldemort and the war that they had only just started to learn about before she performed the memory charm that landed them in Australia. "But why did we have to forget about you?" her mother said, reaching over to grab her hand.

"Isn't it obvious, Jean?" he father said, sounding grave. Hermione had thought it was obvious as well, her keen sense of logic and understanding having been passed down from him.

"Mum," she went on, before her father said something too harsh, "I had to be apart from you. I was the only reason you were in danger."

"Why? Because you're a Muggle?" her mother asked.

"Yes and no. You remember Harry Potter?"

Her parents both nodded.

"Well, he defeated Voldemort. And well, he's my best friend. I was involved, no matter what."

"You didn't have to be Hermione," her father started, "you could've left, come here with us. It's perfectly simple-"

"No dad, it isn't. They would've found me. They've been looking everywhere for us, for you and me. If they thought you had even an ounce of information about Harry, well they would've tortured it out of you and then murdered you."

There was silence for several moments. She watched her parents have a completely silent conversation over their tea cups and Hermione felt more at home in that moment than she had in a long time, even with Ron.

"And, what if you would've died?" her father asked curtly.

"Well, I didn't, as you can see,"she said dismissively, though upon seeing her father's face at her cheek she continued, "but, if that happened, well, you never would've known. You didn't know, did you?" she asked now, thinking about the scene in the yard.

"Not exactly no," her father said, a deep frown on his face.

"Friday it happened," her mother cut in, seeming keen to talk about it. "We were having tea, when? Eight or nine? Well I picked up my book. I was just getting ready to read it again and suddenly a felt a tightness in my chest."

Hermione was horrified. Had it been a medical emergency?

"All of a sudden I had this intense horrible feeling that I had lost something important. But I knew just where I left it. Your father thought I was mental!"

"Well you we're swearing that you lost something but just remembered! Then you drove all over the city trying to figure out what it was that you lost. Then last night you swore it was at the ruddy Hilton-"

"The Hilton?" Hermione interrupted.

"Yes, the Hilton hotel downtown. I couldn't under-"

"That's where we're staying," Hermione cut across him again, "we checked in there yesterday before we started looking for you!"

Her mother slapped her hand down on the table and began sobbing again. "I knew we were close! We were in the same hotel! I was sure that if I stayed there I would find what it was I was looking for. Oh, Kevin, I told you!" Her mother's words were muffled as she broke down and Hermione stood to embrace her.

She couldn't understand what had happened to make her mother remember her or how she knew where they were. Just then her father asked the same thing.

"But, what kind of magic is this Hermione? How did she know where you were and why didn't you just stay put until we found you?"

Hermione shook her head and pulled herself away from her mother, wiping the tears off her own wet face.

"I honestly don't know. You shouldn't have known about me at all. My name shouldn't be in that book and you weren't supposed to remember me until I restored the memories myself. I must've done something wrong…" Hermione pressed her fingers into the bridge of her nose, trying to suppress the headache that was forming. Just then she heard movement from behind her.

"Um, Hermione?" Ron said quietly and she turned.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I have a theory."

Hermione heard her father snort in disbelief and glanced at him, frowning. It was too bad that she couldn't have selectively restored her father's memories not to include the many years of drama involving her current boyfriend. No one would ever be good enough to Kevin Granger and Hermione regretted that her dad had missed out on the many ways Ron had redeemed himself this year.

"Please," Hermione's mother finally said, breaking the tense silence between father and daughter. "Honestly, I felt like I was going mad. What do you think, Ron?"

Ron sighed and pulled a chair up to sit near Hermione.

"Well, remember this year, when I, um, got separated from you two?"

Hermione felt her brow furrow tightly and the headache increased. She nodded.

"Well, I found you right? When it should've been impossible. Why do you suppose that is?"

Hermione was in no mood to figure out this mildly related problem. Truth was, that she didn't have a solid reason why Ron had found them after all that time, other than the fact that he had that deluminator of Dumbledore's. What connection was she supposed to be making here?

"I don't know Ron, what do you think?"

Hermione almost smiled at the surprised look that flashed on Ron's face.

"Well, _isn't is obvious_, Hermione?" he said in a very good imitation of her.

Hermione flushed.

"Dammit, son, we don't have time for a magic lesson here. Do you know why or don't you?" her father snapped and the smile was wiped from Ron's face.

"Um, well, sir, I think it's love."

Hermione balked at him. Surely he hadn't just said that.

"Sorry?" her father said.

Ron flushed scarlet but spoke, albeit to his knees.

"Well, a few months ago, I got separated from Hermione and I had this weird tool that Professor Dumbledore had given me, and well, anyway, I think the thing that brought us back together was love. It was like we were connected and we only had to realize it for the connection to work. Maybe Hermione's proximity and her desire to be reconnected with you was enough to break her own spell. Being friends with Harry Potter has taught me that love can cast a powerful magic stronger than the best spell."

"What do you mean, Ron? What about Harry?"

Ron turned to look at her. She swore his eyes were sparkling with tears. "Well, his mum, she sacrificed herself to save him and he survived the killing curse because of her love. Then, all these years, that was what helped him defeat...Voldemort."

Hermione couldn't believe what she was hearing right now. It wasn't logical, or rational and she'd be lucky to find anything about it in a book, but it made sense.

"You know, I think you may be right, Ron. I don't have any other explanation for it."

Ron smiled. "I'm bound to have a brain wave sometimes."

Hermione looked tentatively between her mother and father. While her mother's face was filled with awe and amazement, her father looked skeptical and undecided.

"Does it really matter, though?" Ron finally said, breaking through the silence, "You found each other, right? And Hermione's alive, so I don't know what the problem is."

"The problem, _son_, is that our daughter risked her life and erased herself from our memories. This is not something that should be taken lightly," her father countered.

Ron was no longer looking respectfully sheepish but glared defiantly at her father.

"I don't think anyone is taking it lightly, _sir_, but instead of being angry with your daughter, maybe you should just feel glad that you have her back!"

"Don't you tell me how I should feel!"

"Enough!" Hermione interrupted, reaching out and taking her mother's hand as she looked to be on the verge of tears again. "Daddy, I'm sorry, I really am. But I had no other choice that didn't put you both at serious risk. I love you so much and I just want to be a family again. Please."

Her father huffed but his expression softened immediately. "Hermione, I'm your father. Of course we're a family. I'm just, well, my memory was erased! A dark wizard tried to kill my daughter! And this slick git is trying to tell me how I should feel about it! I'm processing is all!"

Hermione pressed her lips together tightly.

"I understand, Daddy. I really do. Take as much time as you need. But this 'slick git' is my boyfriend. He's saved my life several times over the past year and before and I love him. I hope you can accept that."

Hermione now glanced between Ron and her father. Instead of looking at each other, both men were staring at her in shock. Never in her life had she stood up to her father in this way. Finally her mother spoke.

"Ron's right, it doesn't matter. I'm just so glad we have you back and that you are ok, dear. Your father and I, well, god, we have a lot to process, that's for sure. But we have you back now and so it's all going to be fine. Isn't that right Kevin?" Hermione and her mother looked at Kevin Granger now and she was gladdened to see him nod.

"Of course. Of course, you're right dear. But what are we going to do?! I mean, we have jobs here but a practice in England. And what about the house Hermione?"

Hermione sighed. She was emotionally exhausted but thankfully had been prepared for these questions.

"The house is fine. Your practice is on sabbatical. Dr. Hoffman agreed to take your patients while you took some time off. Upon your return he's agreed to send them all back your way. You can come back whenever you're ready."

Hermione watched her parents talk to each other without words again. When she glanced at Ron she realized that they had this ability now as well. Ron's face told her that he was here for her and that whatever she decided to do he'd follow.

Hermione stood up. "Mum, Dad, I think I should go."

Her mother stared at her in horror. "What? What do you mean darling?"

"Back to the hotel, for a few hours. I'll let you two process what's happened and then, if you'd like, I can come back at dinner and we can discuss things more. I think I need to lie down though. I'm not feeling very well."

This time, it was her father that agreed. "That's a good idea, sweetheart. How about you and…Ron…come back at 6:30? We can talk more then."

Hermione gave them a tight smile and leaned to kiss her mother, then embraced her father. When she pulled away her father held tight to her shoulders and stared into her face.

"Hermione, are you alright?" She knew what he meant and had no choice but to answer him honestly.

"No, daddy, I'm not. But I'm better."

Her father sighed and rubbed her arms then let her walk towards where Ron was standing restlessly by the doorway.

"I'll see you soon," she called to them as they sat close to each other at the table.

Her mother stared at her. "Promise?"

Hermione smiled and nodded. "I do, mum, I promise."

* * *

_A/N2: I can't tell you how glad I am to be finished with Australia! I know this chapter might not be for everyone, but it's where I wanted to go with it. Feel free to leave a review telling me what you think._

_And if you really like stories about Hermione and Ron going to Australia, by all means read "Australia" by MsBinns. Reading that fic has made my two __measly chapters all that much harder to write because hers is just so good!_

_I have two more chapters already ready to be posted this week. Next up is Luna, followed by Lee Jordan! As we move forward, some new characters will be getting chapters, including Hannah, Susan, Angelina and Ernie. I also have some days with question marks in them so if there is a character from the DA that you would like to have a chapter please message me!_

_That's right, I'm taking requests!_

_Truth be told, all the surviving members of the DA will have their own chapters by the end of this tale, but when they are featured is not so concrete. _

_Thanks for sticking with me!_


	22. Induction- Luna

_Author's note: Thank you thank you for all your responses to the last chapter! I was so happy to get such a positive response! As promised, here's the next chapter, quick as a bunny! _

* * *

**May 24- Induction**

**Luna**

Luna had only just decided that it would be bad luck to match her bra with her knickers when there was a knock at the door. She ran over to the window and looked down at the doorstep. There was Neville, looking dapper and, as usual, holding some sort of strange, beautiful flower that she'd never seen before. One of the things Luna liked about Neville was that he could teach her something new. Usually, it was her who was informing people of something they'd thought to be false, or about some undiscovered creature that was almost certainly real. Neville was able to open her mind even more than she thought possible.

_And he's bloody fit._

"I'll be down in a second!" she called and his eyes shot up at her with a start.

"Oh! Um, alright then," he said, smiling goofily at her. Luna felt a flush burn into the back of her knees at the look. She backed away from the window and threw on the frock she had purchased while out shopping with Ginny. It was covered in multicolored mushrooms and, to her great delight, had pockets. Luna tried to remember the advice Ginny had given her. So far it had proven most valuable.

By the time she got downstairs, Neville was squeezed in a narrow armchair, the tall bizarre flower sagging heavily in his grip. Luna's father was sitting comfortably on the green plaid loveseat, giving Neville an appraising look.

"Hello, Neville. Daddy," Luna said curtly, trying to convey that her father should be nice to this boy, who helped save the wizarding world and who she was simply very fond of, darn it.

Luna's father turned and beamed at her. "Luna, my love! Come sit! Neville was just explaining why he hasn't been by for dinner before." And with that he turned back to face Neville, waiting for an answer.

Neville looked nervous, his brow had the characteristic sweaty glow that he got when he had no idea how to proceed. Luna decided to help him out.

"Oh, well Neville's very busy being an Auror. Plus, I've never invited him over before." This wasn't exactly true, but they had worked through that little snag on their own. "That's a beautiful flower Neville, what is it?"

Neville perked up at the question, as Luna knew it was one he could answer. "_Creoverbus Credulifortis. _It's a most interesting flower in the _Creotis_ family. These are the flowers whose pollens are used to stimulate creativity. This one is best known for its use in journalism. I thought it would do well in your home, Mr. Lovegood." Neville had started out speaking to Luna but finished looking respectfully at her father. Xenophilus Lovegood still appeared skeptical.

"You have a vast knowledge of plants for an Auror, son. Why are you choosing to spend your time with that questionable organization?"

Luna plopped down next to her father with a frown. When he had suggested making a welcoming feast for her boyfriend, she had been thrilled, had assured Neville that her father was kind, openhearted and welcoming. Right now she was feeling like a liar.

"Um, well sir, the Minister offered me the position after the war and I felt it was my, um, responsibility to accept. I do rather see myself having a career in the Herbology field at some point, just not right now."

Luna saw Neville glance her way and beamed at him. He was doing very well in her opinion.

"Hmph," her father said, standing up and striding into the kitchen. Before he disappeared around the wall he called back, "Come on, you two. Dinner should be ready by now."

Neville pried himself from the small armchair and stooped low to Luna's face. She thought he was going to kiss her but was disappointed when he simply whispered, "How'm I doing?"

Luna gave him a reassuring smile. "Reasonably well."

Neville handed her the flower and then wiped his damp brow. "Brilliant."

* * *

Luna could not stare openly at Neville the way she normally liked to, but instead had to steal glances at him between bites of food. He seemed to be pushing his food around his plate more than he was eating it. _Must be nerves_, she thought, as the food tasted very good, in her opinion.

"So, Neville, what is your plan?" Xenophilus said after a few moments of awkward silence.

Neville's fork screeched across his plate with a grating squeal.

"Sorry?"

Xenophilus looked amused at his ability to put fear in Neville. Luna thought she should feel good that her father was so protective of her, but the truth was she felt a little annoyed.

"Your plan? You said you aren't interested in Auror work, so what are you going to do? My Luna is heading back to Hogwarts in the fall. Are you planning to take your NEWTs at all?"

Luna became angry as she watched Neville dissolve into the stammering, unsure boy of her youth. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he searched around for what the right answer could be. She was just about to interrupt when Neville spoke.

"Well, no sir, I'm not going back to Hogwarts as a student, but I will likely take the NEWT make-up exams in the winter. I know that an Outstanding in Herbology will be important for any related job I might get. I also have an intensive Herbology workshop at the end of the summer. Hopefully I can make some connections through that and figure out my next step."

Luna was floored. This was the Neville from the battle, the Neville that she found herself suddenly taken with after several years of friendship. She glanced at the clock. _Dinner couldn't be over soon enough_, she thought, as the tingly sensation of lust overtook her.

Luna's father also looked impressed by this answer, though was much less flush than she currently felt. After a few charged moments of silence Xenophilus said, "A colleague of mine is looking for someone to help him in his apothecary. It was destroyed in the war and he needs someone to restock the herbs and plants. You should apply."

Neville gaped at Mr. Lovegood and then at Luna.

"Um, yeah, I mean, yes. That would be brilliant. Thank you."

Xenophilus gave him a nod and cleared their plates with a swish of his wand. They were replaced by large thick slabs of treacle tart.

"His name is Woodrow Greengrass. The apothecary is in Hogsmeade. Likely you've been there before, yes?"

Neville beamed. "Of course! I've bought loads of stuff there!"

Neville's enthusiasm was contagious and suddenly Luna felt much more cheered about the way their dinner was going. This was only helped along by the sticky sweetness of treacle tart.

"Very well. I will owl him tomorrow to set up an interview. You might try to acquire a letter of reference from Pomona Sprout as well as your Herbology OWL exam to bring along. Greengrass is in a tight spot but he will only accept the best."

Neville nodded solemnly but then glanced at Luna and broke into a huge smile. When Luna looked back at her father she noticed he was trying to suppress his own grin.

"Tea, I think?" he said, getting up and walking from the dining room.

* * *

"You want to take a walk?" Luna asked quietly as her father left the room to refill the teapot for the third time.

Neville chewed his lip and glanced at the kitchen. "Um, your dad…?" he asked but Luna just smiled at his shyness.

"Daddy is bored of us. He has a new issue to prepare for. Watch."

Seconds later Xenophilus was back but holding only one mug in his hand and several papers bunched under his arms.

"Well, Mr. Longbottom, it's been a pleasure, but I'm afraid I must retire. New issue and all. Forgive me for not showing you out."

Neville glanced at Luna briefly before standing and walking over to grasp the other man's unencumbered hand. "It was a pleasure meeting you sir," he said politely and with that Luna's father nodded curtly and made his way up the winding staircase.

"Told you," Luna said as her father's purple loafers disappeared onto the upstairs landing. Neville grinned at her shiftily.

"Where do you want to go?" Neville asked quietly, still eyeing the upstairs landing. Luna walked towards him and slipped her hand in his.

"I know a place."

The place was her old tree house, a great lump of a thing still hanging together by magic and blimbulous gum. It had the basic components; four walls, a partial roof and a floor, though the window and door were long gone. There was however, a new nest of birds living in there which flew off startled as the two clattered into the small room.

"Um, Luna, are you sure this can hold us? It's looks ready to collapse," Neville said nervously. Luna wondered if he was nervous because of the stability of the floor or because they were now alone in the dark together.

"It's fine, Neville. I come up here all the time."

"Alone, I'm sure," Neville added and Luna looked at him with question. "Um, I didn't mean, just, I meant, not with me. I'm heavier than you, is all."

Luna smiled. He was so awkwardly sweet, even when he accidentally said stupid things.

"Relax Neville, we won't fall." And with that Luna sat on the floor and pulled him down next to her. "When I was younger Daddy would play up here with me. We'd have tea parties."

Neville smoothed his hands over his trousers and caught her eye only once as she stared at him. Luna steeled herself for rejection and leaned over to grasp his fidgeting hand.

"Your dad doesn't like me," Neville blurted suddenly and Luna couldn't help but laugh.

"He likes you ok. About as much as can be expected for the boy that is fooling around with his young, innocent daughter, wouldn't you say?"

_Flirtatious, am I being flirtatious? _Luna couldn't be sure. She wished Ginny had given her some lines or something.

"Um, I suppose."

"Besides, he told you about that job. Are you actually going to apply for it or were you just being polite?"

Neville turned so he was facing her. He looked serious. "Of course I'm going to apply for it, Luna. It sounds brilliant. I really do want to move from being an Auror. Honestly, all it is is bloody paperwork all day!"

Luna nodded, rubbing her thumb over the strong hand in hers.

"Yes, it would be an improvement. The Aurors have a notorious reputation for being involved with-"

"Luna, don't," Neville interrupted with a grin. "Whatever theory you are about to spin, just don't. I still work there for now, yeah?"

Luna pursed her lips. "Fine, well how about this? If you don't work there any longer then I don't have to worry about you being killed."

_Well, that definitely wasn't flirtatious, but it was honest. _

"Luna…" Neville started, shifting closer to her in the tree house. She felt her chest get tight with worry and tapped her feet rhythmically to calm herself.

"I know you can get that job, Neville. You are so smart." _Better._

"Thanks," he said, leaning over and kissing her lightly. _Much better._

Luna pulled his face close to her own and kissed him with as much gusto as she could manage. Neville's mouth was moving awkwardly along with her own but as soon as she shifted herself so they were face to face he seemed to catch up.

Luna felt the worry and tension melt away as Neville's strong arms encircled her and his rough face rubbed against her soft one. Suddenly the floor creaked and Neville pulled away.

"You're positive it's safe?" he whispered, sounding breathless but worried.

Luna straddled his seated form and put her hands on either side of his scratchy face.

"No, but I'm reasonably sure," she said and began kissing him again. Luna would not let him get distracted from getting off with her tonight. They were going to put in some much needed snogging time, darn it.

Neville was not hard to convince. His hands moved up and down her back as they kissed until…

_Oh my goodness, Neville's hands are on my bum! He's touching my bum!_

Neville's palms were in fact moving over the top of Luna's backside now as they snogged sloppily in the dark. Suddenly his hand grazed the elastic band and he froze, his tongue still slightly in her mouth.

"Neville?" she whispered, pulling back and trying to make him out in the pitch-blackness.

"Mm?" he responded, but said nothing else as he brought his hands away from her back to rest lightly on her shoulders. He kissed her a few more times before pulling away and saying, "_Lumos_" causing his wand to cast deep shadows along the warped wood of the tiny tree shack.

"Um, I should probably be off. I bet your dad is wondering where you are," he said, looking beet red even in the dim light.

Luna furrowed her brow. _He had touched me by accident. Oh, phooey._

"Are you sure Neville? Daddy gets completely consumed by his work. I'm sure he thinks I'm already in bed asleep." Luna tried to be as seductive as she could but basically felt awkward and a little desperate. If he didn't want to ravage her than he could get well out of it.

"Um, I dunno. I don't want to get you in trouble. Maybe we could, um, do something, next weekend?"

Luna fell back on her haunches, her dress still bunched up around her hips. In the dim light of his wand, she saw Neville glance down quickly before shooting up to his feet. The force caused the entire tree house to jolt and Neville to yell out.

"It's alright, Neville! _Obtineo!_" Luna added, her wand now pointed at the place where the small house attached to the tree. It steadied itself and she felt it shift back the other way, reattaching to the trunk.

Neville was looking at her wide-eyed and Luna couldn't help but let slip a laugh.

"'S'not funny, Luna!"

She shook her head and walked slowly towards him. "I know Neville. You are obviously terrified. It's just, I watched you stand up to You-Know-Who. I watched you kill that snake. You are an Auror, Neville."

He stood there awkwardly for a minute before he, too, laughed.

"Yeah, an Auror who's bloody well afraid of heights."

Luna smiled fondly at her boyfriend. Maybe she gave him too much credit. He was obviously just as unsure and nervous about some things as he was before he led a rebellion in Hogwarts.

"What do you want to do next weekend?" she asked, changing the subject away from that dark time in their lives.

Neville glanced at her quickly then back at the floor, still looking as though he might collapse through it at any moment.

"Dunno. Any ideas?"

_Indeed I do_, Luna thought, but instead said, "How about a hike? I know of a good place that is full of magical plants and is a known migratory habitat for the Crumple-Horned Snorkack."

Neville gave her a lopsided grin. "Sounds brilliant. Well, I best be off before we fall to our deaths. See you at lunch on Wednesday?"

Luna walked over and gave him a quick peck. "See you Wednesday. Goodnight, Neville."

"Night," he said, still grinning at her before he turned on the spot and vanished from the room.

Luna sighed and plopped back down on the rough wooden floor. The beams groaned, threatening to pull away, but she ignored them. She wasn't scared.

* * *

_A/N 2: Lee's chapter will be up this weekend! Thanks again for your reviews! They are great motivation!_


	23. Transformation- Lee

_Author's Note: Thanks again to all of you who are following, favoriting and most of all reviewing the story! I'm posting this early so I can get some work done this weekend on new plot! Enjoy!_

* * *

**May 25- Transformation**

**Lee**

Lee was not known for having the best reflexes, which is why it was no surprise that he was now profusely apologizing to the witch he had just crashed into as he read a letter while walking down Diagon Alley. Walking and reading was a bad idea.

Lee helped pick up the books, parchment and packages he'd knocked over and then made his way down an off-shoot of the main road, approaching a dingy looking hair salon. Upon entering he coughed and pulled his wand.

"_Puro,_" he said and the smoke was pulled from the room.

Sitting on the counter of the salon, looking amused, was Alicia.

"Alright, coz?" she said, sliding off the counter to approach him while lighting up yet another cigarette.

When she was in arm's reach Lee reached out and grabbed the cigarette from her lips, breaking it in half.

"Hey!" she protested, pushing him slightly in the shoulder.

"When are you going to quit with those things, Al? It's a disgusting habit."

Lee walked past her and plopped down in the salon chair. Seconds later, Alicia was standing behind him.

"Everybody has a vice," she said, now seemingly assessing the state of his long dreadlocks in the mirror.

"I don't," he argued.

Alicia looked up at him in the mirror's reflection, her eyebrow arched.

"Really? What about Miss Lavender Brown?"

Lee groaned and stood up from the chair.

"She's not a vice, she's my friend! Can't any of you bloody witches keep your mouths shut?!" he said, exasperated.

Alicia crossed her arms, looking skeptical. "You're seriously going to stand there and tell me you don't fancy her?"

Lee shifted his weight nervously. Alicia had always been able to read him like a book. Which is why she was now his closest cousin, and why she had been his most formidable relative growing up.

Finally Alicia snorted and rolled her eyes. "Sit down! You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to!"

Lee sat back down in the chair and glanced at his cousin in the mirror as she removed the elastic holding back his long dreads, spreading them out over his shoulders.

"You haven't been in in a while," she said. "We have a lot of tightening up to do."

Lee shifted in the chair. "Um, actually Al, I think I want to cut them off."

When he glanced at her in the mirror, he saw her mouth was agape in shock.

"Are you kidding me?"

Lee shook his head, the lump already rising in his throat.

"But, I mean, Lee, you've had them since you were twelve years old! Why do you suddenly want them gone?"

Lee shrugged. "I've actually been wanting a change for a while now. The past few years, well I think it was mostly just to annoy her."

Alicia's face changed and she gave him a sad smile as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"She used to give me so much hell about them, you know? Merlin she hated my hair. But I always told her, 'Over my d-dead body…." Lee trailed off as fresh tears fell easily down his cheeks. He didn't wipe them away. He and Alicia had seen each other cry thousands of times over the years. Why should he be embarrassed? His sister was dead.

Alicia squeezed his shoulder and came around to face him.

"Is that what this is about, Lee? Are you doing this for her?"

Lee sniffed and shrugged again as he wiped his eyes, now blurry with tears.

"I just need them gone, Al. Will you please?"

Alicia didn't speak, just patted him lightly on the knee and went back around the chair. Lee did not look up as he felt her lightly tugging on each piece of hair. He could hear the scissors slicing and felt the weight coming off his head. As she worked he thought about his sister and how he would've given anything for her to be there at that moment, taking the piss as he finally took her advice.

"_No one is going to take you seriously. You look like a bum!" _she'd say, yanking on the long matted hair that hung down his back.

Lee wanted to be taken seriously. Sure, he liked having a laugh, pulling a prank or coming up with some new joke for Wheezes, but too much had happened for him to ignore how serious life could be. Chara was gone, Fred was gone. Lavender was maimed beyond repair. No longer could everything be a joke.

"There," Alicia said, a few moments later, running her hand over the extremely short remnants of nine long years of work. "I need to clean it up a bit. You want to go down to the scalp? I reckon you look good with a bit of growth."

Lee glanced up at himself in the mirror. He didn't look too much different. Well, his face wasn't normally puffy and wet from crying, but besides that, he looked like a regular bloke with regular hair. An adult, even.

"Whatever you think is best," he replied when she came back with her enchanted razor. A few flicks of her wand and he was properly cleaned up.

"Nice. Thanks, Al," Lee said halfheartedly as he stood and brushed a few errant hairs from his shirt.

"No problem. I like making people look nice. And you do look quite fit."

Lee snorted. "That's my main goal in life, you know. Looking attractive to my gay cousin."

"Oh shut it prat. I bet Lavender will like this new look on you!"

Lee huffed and walked over to grab some water from the counter. There was no use in hiding from Alicia. Hell, maybe she'd even have some advice.

"I haven't actually seen her in a month. Not since St. Mungos. I've suggested it a few times but she either doesn't mention it or has some excuse. I don't think she wants to be more than pen friends."

Alicia frowned at him and pulled a cigarette from her pack. Lee resisted the urge to take it away. It was her shop after all.

"You want to know what I think?" Alicia asked, taking a pull from her cigarette and climbing back up into her usual spot on the counter.

Lee nodded.

"I think you need to be patient. That girl spent a lot of her life being seen as a pretty blonde with a nice rack. What?" she added when Lee glared at her. "I'm just telling you what I've heard! Anyway, if I were to guess, I'd say she was still dealing with feeling unattractive. I know I would if that monster had gotten to me!"

Lee sighed and nodded, pulling himself up on the counter opposite her.

"I guess that makes sense," he conceded.

"Of course it makes sense! I'm a hairdresser, Lee, we know these things!"

Lee chuckled at his cousin. She always knew how to make him feel better.

"So what should I do?"

Alicia shrugged and jumped off the counter. "Don't give up, but be patient. Or don't. I mean, why are you so hung up on her anyway? I seem to recall she was kind of a nutter with Ron."

Lee shook his head. "She isn't like that, not with me anyway. She's funny, real sarcastic-like. I like that. Her letters always make me feel better when I'm having a hard day. I haven't really had anyone to talk to about...stuff…" Lee trailed off as Alicia crossed her arms looking offended.

"What about me?"

"That's not what I meant!" Lee argued, "It's just, I can only burden you so much. Plus, you lost people too. I mean, Chara was like a sister to you, I know that. Plus Fred and Angelina…"

"Angelina is fine," Alicia said shortly, which told Lee that she knew exactly what he meant.

"Yeah, but you two aren't fine, are you?"

Alicia made a grumbling noise that signaled she did not want to discuss it. Lee pressed on.

"Al, can't you let it go? You knew she wasn't gay from the start! I know she misses you. You both could've died but you didn't. It's time to move on."

Alicia was standing with her back to Lee, hands on the counter tapping with annoyance.

"I have moved on Lee. I don't have any problems with Angelina."

"Then how come you don't hang round with us anymore?"

Lee heard Alicia sigh before she turned and looked at him.

"It's just bloody awkward, isn't it?"

Lee smirked and shrugged. "I dunno. It's no more awkward than Angelina dating George now."

Lee laughed as Alicia gave him the desired reaction. "Are you bloody kidding me right now? Ange and George?! Merlin's tits!"

Lee laughed again.

"Yeah, well it's not official yet. They went on a 'proper date' last weekend. Not really surprised, are you? It's been a long time coming. George has been unbearably cheerful all week."

Alicia shook her head in disbelief and lit another cigarette. "What a batty slag. Dating twins."

Lee had to agree but merely shrugged. "They are pretty different, Fred and George. But it'll still be awkward. Now I'll officially be the third wheel!"

Alicia looked at him sideways before conceding. "Fine! I'll come round! When and where?"

"Well, you're welcome around the Leaky whenever, you know. We go there most nights. But the grand re-opening of the shop is next week. I think it'd mean a lot to George if you came by."

Alicia furrowed her brow and gave Lee a curt nod as she stamped out her cigarette butt.

"Fine. But don't make a big deal about it."

"As long as you don't say anything about Lavender."

"Deal."

Lee beamed at her and blew a kiss.

"Great, see ya! Thanks again for the haircut!"

Alicia just hopped back on the counter and waved him out of the shop.

After a quick stop at the café for two coffees and a ham sandwich, Lee made his way over to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. He knew that George hated being there alone and much of the time he said he was "at work" he was actually at the Leaky chatting to Hannah, or at Malkin's chatting to Angelina, or anywhere but where he needed to be, which was at the shop. Now that he had set a date though, he'd been better about actually getting the shop ready for the re-opening. That day was going to be hard for all of them, but in the meantime, he could just be there for his friend any way that he could.

Lee pushed the door to Wheezes open with his hip and entered the dark shop. George hadn't even looked up, as his attention seemed to be taken up by a massive pile of parchment that was pouring over the front counter. George's brow was furrowed as he spoke quietly to himself out loud, apparently going over numbers of some sort.

"Alright, George?" Lee said after a full minute of standing awkwardly waiting for George to greet him.

"Er, yeah," George muttered, opening another long scroll that unraveled down over the counter, stopping at Lee's feet.

Lee set the coffees on the floor and picked up the parchment, scanning it curiously. Much of it was in short hand but most definitely seemed to be accounting information for the shop. He set the end of the parchment on the counter.

"Doing a little bookkeeping?" Lee asked.

George snorted and shook his head, still not looking at Lee. "If you can call it that. None of this shite makes any sense!"

Lee scanned over the parchment he could see and agreed that it looked confusing.

"What are these?"

George sighed, flipping through more paper. "Numbers. Just loads of bloody numbers! Fucking Fred, I tell you, he always had a knack for arithmancy and I never got higher than a D! I don't know how I'm supposed to-Bloody Hell! Your hair!" George finished, shouting. He had just now looked up and noticed Lee's appearance.

Lee felt sheepish as George gaped at him, the incredulous smile creeping across his face that signaled to Lee he was about to get a serious piss-taking from his best mate.

"Yeah, just came from Alicia's. Thought it was time to make a fresh start."

To Lee's great surprise, George closed his mouth and his smile became more kind than mocking. He just nodded.

"Wasn't just for Lavender then?" George joked, taking the coffee that Lee was now handing to him. Lee laughed.

"Yeah, because I'm really concerned with looking fit for when I'm writing all those letters!"

George rolled his eyes. "You have no game, Jordan, I'm telling you! Just ask her if she wants to meet up! If it helps, you do look fit. And sort of like an adult. I don't like it."

Lee shook his head, looking through the accounting records for the shop as he did so. "I just had the same conversation with Alicia. I've suggested meeting up, but she blows me off. I think I might be barking up the wrong tree."

George laughed loudly. "I really hope you don't use dog-related expressions when you're chatting her up!"

Lee threw a rude hand gesture at George but smirked. It was easier to talk to him about this sort of thing than Alicia. Not that it should be. He reckoned she had more experience with women than George did.

"Listen, I don't know what to tell you about this stuff. Have you thought of hiring an accountant?" Lee suggested, piling the parchment back on the counter.

George shook his head. "I don't know if I can afford it! That's the main problem! I don't really know how much money we have, how much we still owe Gringott's, how much I can invest in new product, any of that shite! Fred took care of all of it!"

Lee stared at him incredulously. "And what the hell were you doing while Fred was running the business?"

"I did stuff! I did a lot of the initial inventing. I designed the packaging. I took care of promotions and testing. Fuck you mate, I do stuff!" George finished, sounding annoyed. Lee raised his hands in retraction.

"Didn't mean anything!" he said, knowing that George was always walking the line between feeling okay and being a complete mess when it came to Fred.

George sighed and shook his head. "I know, I'm sorry. I just don't know what I'm going to do about all this. I'm in completely over my head."

Lee sat on the small bit of counter that wasn't ensconced in paper. For some reason his thoughts kept going back to Lavender, but he couldn't figure out why. He felt like there was something about her that was important to the problem at hand, but then he figured it was just because both Alicia and George had hit the nail on the head. He did have it bad for her.

"Listen, you want to help me test this new burping solution? I can't be bothered with numbers anymore today. Reckon I'll just wait until Hermione gets back from Australia and have her look at it."

Suddenly it clicked.

"Lavender!" he shouted and George raised his eyebrows in question.

"Sorry?"

"Lavender, her dad. Her dad is an accountant. She got an O in Arithmancy and she was one of the only students in the NEWT class last year. She is a numbers whiz!" Lee was glad he remembered this information, both because it might be helpful to his friend, and because it meant he wasn't just thinking of her because he was a lovesick prat.

"You think she'd look at this stuff for me? I might be able to pay her, if she finds that we have any money left."

Lee shrugged. "I'll write her about it today. I know she's bored, I bet she'd be happy to help. And if she can't figure it out, maybe she could get her dad to help out a little. Just to move you in the right direction."

George nodded, making a stack of the files. "Thanks, mate. That would be great. And it's a win-win for the both of us!"

"How do you reckon?"

"Well, if you can't ask her out on a proper date in a letter, maybe you can wear her down in person."

Lee frowned. "Oh, yeah, I dunno if she'll come in. We might have to mail this stuff to her."

George shook his head. "Oh no you don't. If you can't offer her a job then I will. But I think she'll be more _ahem_ grateful to you for the tip."

Lee snorted. "So it's a job now? You just said you weren't going to pay her!"

"If you think a paycheck will get her down to this shop then I'll pay her. But don't say I never did anything for you!"

Lee laughed and shook his head. "You are a slick git, you know that?"

George just smiled and took a long swig of a neon yellow potion.

"Yuuuuuuuuuuuurp!" he replied with a loud belch and Lee fell over in laughter.

* * *

_Hey Lav,_

_How are you? How's Katie treating you? Don't be too hard on her. I know her cheerful, upbeat attitude can be a right pain sometimes but she really means it. I don't think I've ever met a person as genuinely happy as she is. _

_I got that haircut today. My head feels a lot lighter and both Alicia and George said I look quite fit. Considering they both fancy girls I don't know how I should feel about that._

_I actually wanted to talk to you about George. He's having a lot of trouble with the accounting for the shop, seeing as Fred took care of it when he was alive. I mentioned that you were really good with numbers and he said he'd be willing to give you a job if you wanted to come in to look over what he has. I'll warn you now, it's a lot and I couldn't understand a bit of it. I did drop Arithmancy after fourth year so what do I know? I know you said you were bored so I thought this would be perfect for you._

_Let me know what you think. He seems at his wit's end with it all. _

_I didn't think it would be such a big deal, but I was pretty messed up about Chara today. She always teased me about my dreadlocks so cutting them off finally after all this time brought up a lot. Most of it was good though. I just regret not spending more time with her at the end. I guess you never know what's going to happen so it's best to live life to the fullest. Or whatever. I guess I'm feeling philosophical tonight!_

_But that being said, I applied for a journalism job with the Prophet. They're completely starting fresh with all new employees after the lousy reporting they've been coming out with over the last few years. So hopefully I'll get an interview. You want to peek into your crystal ball for me? _

_Just joking! Unless you do see something, then definitely tell me!_

_Write back soon about the job._

_Yours,_

_Lee_

* * *

_A/N 2: I'm so excited that I finally got to introduce Alicia, as I've been writing her for a while now! _

_As a special thank you for all the recent love, here's a sneak peek at the next five chapters!_

_Next up is Hannah (featuring a few other key Hufflepuffs!) then Lavender, Susan, Seamus and Neville!_

_See you guys next week!_


	24. Recovered- Hannah

_Author's Note: Well, I couldn't resist, here's the next chapter! I got a lot of work done already on the next few chapters so I wanted to post this since it's ready. I'm hoping to be into June by next weekend._

_Ratings note: If you've been reading this story from the beginning, would you be so kind as to let me know if you think it is more T or M? I don't think it is going to get much more mature than it already has, so I was thinking about lower the rating back down, unless anyone can give me a reason not to. Thank you!_

* * *

**May 26- Recovered**

**Hannah**

"Here, you have to remember to shift the table before you put in the numbers, Han," Ernie said, tapping his wand on the stacks of timetables before them.

"Ah, my hero!" she exclaimed, picking up the stack. "Can you believe Tom used to do these by hand? He said he never took arithmancy."

'Well, if your life's ambition is to work in a pub…"

"Ernie," Hannah warned, "give it a rest."

She was so tired of the backhanded comments he would make about her choice to stay at the Leaky Cauldron instead of going back to school. _Why couldn't he just be happy for her?_

"I'm sorry Hannah, but you've worked so hard and you are so damn smart. I feel like you are just wasting your talents by working here. You don't need to do him any favors."

Hannah knew that he meant Tom.

"We've been through all of this before Ernie," she grumbled, organizing the time sheets he had been helping her with.

"Yeah, but I still don't get it."

Hannah sighed and came around to sit next to him in the booth. He shifted so they were face to face.

"First of all, I'm not that smart. No, let me finish! I had to work so hard just to keep up with you and Susan. It was too much pressure! I got good grades but I was so unhappy Ernie! I'm happy here. I love talking to people and learning to cook. Sure it's not easy, but I really enjoy myself. Secondly, I owe Tom a lot. He looked after me when mum died and he doesn't need to be training me up at all. I'm the one that expressed interest and he took a chance on me. Thirdly, I'm glad I worked so hard at those subjects! I mean, I got an Acceptable on my Arithmancy OWL but I still can't charm these darn timesheets!"

Ernie exhaled through his nose and smoothed back his hair.

"I don't know if I'll ever understand Hannah. I mean, I get liking it, as a job. But as a career? Didn't you hope to be doing something…more…"

"What?"

"Rewarding?"

Hannah huffed and pulled herself out of the booth.

"I don't know what to tell you. This is the choice I've made so either you can support me as my best friend and boyfriend, or not. I'm tired of defending myself."

She crossed her arms under her chest and waited. There it was, the ultimatum.

Ernie furrowed his brow and stared at her. She wished he would say something. _Get it over with!_

Ernie had just started to speak when the bell signaling a customer rang.

"Work time," she said curtly and hurried away from the tense situation.

Hannah walked out into the open bar area to see a tall, extremely thin man with wavy brown hair covering half his face and a patchy beard covering the other half. He was wearing muggle clothing that looked dirty and careworn. Under the dirty matted hair, she could just make out an expression of fear and bewilderment. Hannah pulled her wand. Tom had warned her that occasionally homeless muggles would stumble into the pub, looking for somewhere to sleep.

"Hannah?" the man rasped and she paused. That voice was familiar. Suddenly Ernie was next to her, wand out, ready to defend.

"He said my name," she whispered to him.

Then the ragged man actually smiled, his teeth gleaming white and straight behind the tangle of unkept beard. "Ernie?"

Hannah looked between the two men in confusion. Suddenly Ernie's face changed to show shock and amazement as his eyes became glassy.

"Justin?"

Hannah spun her head back to look at the man again. _Justin._

"Justin!" She ran towards him but Justin backed away so fast that he slammed into the wall.

"Sorry! I'm sorry!" she said, taking a few steps back, her hands raised.

"T-tell me, something, that o-only you'd know," he stuttered.

Hannah thought for a moment, but it was Ernie that spoke first.

"In our fifth year, you kissed Hannah under the mistletoe and I didn't speak to you for a week."

Hannah blushed at the memory. Suddenly she was being crushed in long, thin arms as Justin sobbed against the top of her head. She wrapped her arms around him and felt tears pool in her own eyes.

Justin was alive. Hannah felt Ernie's hand on her shoulder as Justin turned to embrace his other best friend.

"Justin, mate! We thought the worst! I'm bloody glad to see you!"

Justin sniffed and pushed his hair out of his eyes.

"Me too! I can't believe you are here! I thought, well. I was just coming through to get into Diagon Alley. I was going to owl you both once I went to the bank and got cleaned up a bit."

"Well, hang on a sec, will you? Come sit," Ernie said, leading Justin back into the booth they had just vacated.

Hannah went and got a tea service and brought it over to the table then pulled into the booth next to Ernie.

"So where have you been Finchy?" Ernie asked while reaching over and squeezing Hannah's knee under the table telling her that he was just as overwhelmed by the sudden appearance of their missing best mate as she was.

Justin chuckled at the nickname Ernie had given him way back in second year.

"I've been, god, everywhere. We were hiding out with some family for a while, but then, well, muggles in the neighbourhood, bad things started to happen. I told my parents we needed to go, but they didn't understand. They didn't see how we could be in danger. Dad and I, we got into it and…I left and…well…"

Hannah felt a lump grow in her throat. So many people she cared about were gone. She reached across the table and took Justin's hand.

"I know. It's ok."

Justin nodded and swallowed. Hannah watched as he pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes, wiping away the tears that hung there. She felt overjoyed to be seeing him, alive, though sadness and fear mingled with her relief.

"So, after that, I just, well, I took a train."

"Where?" Ernie asked.

"To France," Justin said, gesturing with a biscuit before it disappeared into his mouth. "I hid out in Marseille, stayed in hostels and ate cheap. After my money ran out, I got a few odd jobs to make ends meet. I did alright for the first five months or so. Then, well…" Justin sighed and knocked back the dredges of his tea. Hannah could tell that this story was about to take a turn for the worse.

"I got mugged one night, coming back to the hostel I was staying at. These two blokes, they took the rest of my money, all the food I had just purchased and my ruddy shoes! I still had my wand, but it didn't really do me any good."

"Why not?" Ernie said, looking confused. "Couldn't you have just stunned them? Or summoned the stuff back?"

Justin gave them a tight smile. "Great minds think alike, Ern. That's exactly what I did, _Accio_, but I wasn't of age yet, was I? So then these two wizards popped up right there in the alley and demanded to see my wand!"

Hannah gasped. "Snatchers?"

Justin shrugged. "I guess so. I figured they were from the Ministry, which I didn't trust anyway after getting that damn summons to register my blood status. I just ran. They chased after me but thankfully didn't try to stun or kill me seeing as I ran out onto a crowded street of muggles. I lost them in the mix and then hid in the basement of a shop for the night. That's basically what I've been doing for the last two months or so."

Hannah wanted to cry, to scream at the unjustness of it. Justin had been homeless for the last two months while her and Ernie bickered about silly things like jobs and school.

"I'm so sorry Justin," she said, taking his hand again and squeezing.

"As am I, mate," Ernie added, looking as grave as Hannah felt, "I wish we could've done something for you."

To her great surprise Justin beamed at them. "You did! I got the message. That you-know-who was gone." Justin pulled the galleon from his pocket and held it tightly in his fist. "As soon as I saw that, well, I started making my way home."

"How did you get here? Without any money or anything?" Ernie asked quickly, obviously wanting to know exactly what had been going on. Hannah knew Ernie had been more than distraught about Justin's whereabouts and possible death all this year, especially after the report on Potterwatch that several homes in Clapham showing signs of magical protection had been infiltrated and demolished.

Justin frowned and shook his head. "I panhandled, a bit. For food and things. I didn't steal though. I've been able to legally use magic for the last two weeks but that hasn't helped me much. I tried Apparating, but I'm not very good at it. I splinched myself twice." He lifted some of his hair to show a long thick scar where the flesh had obviously been removed completely from the center of his head down his neck.

"Blimey," Ernie said.

"Yeah. So after that happened I hitchhiked to Paris, which was pretty easy. From there I called my family. My Aunt Florence, she wired me some money. Um, she sent it to a place where I could pick it up," he explained when Ernie and Hannah gave him a questioning look.

"I used it to buy some food and a train ticket to London. I actually just got in. I was headed to Gringotts to get some wizard money and figure out my next step."

"Your parents?" Hannah asked hesitantly.

Justin shook his head solemnly, his eyes automatically filling with tears, though none fell. Hannah felt her heart constrict painfully as she remembered the feeling of losing her own mother.

"Merlin, Finch. What's your plan?" Ernie asked.

Justin just shrugged and sipped his tea.

"Well, you can stay here, as long as you need," Hannah offered sincerely.

Justin gave her a curious look. "Do you work here then?"

"Hannah's actually owner-in-training of the Leaky Cauldron," Ernie said with so much pride that Hannah spun around to look at him in surprise. Finally her position had some value to Ernie.

"That's great Hannah, congrats!" Justin said, smiling broadly at her. Under the matted hair she could almost recognize the boy she had grown up with.

"Cheers, Justin. But yes, you can stay here as long as you want, no problem. We actually are looking for some help right now if you want to earn some money."

Justin beamed at her. "That'd be brilliant, Hannah, thanks. I'm actually good on money, though. I can finally access the trust fund now that I'm of age. But I could use a place to stay for a bit. I don't know if I can go home again. My aunt said that the Ministry had been by and repaired the damage but…"

Hannah gave him a sad smile and nodded. "Whatever you need."

There was a heavy moment of silence as Justin, Hannah and surely Ernie thought of Justin's parents. She and Ernie had spent many summers visiting the Finch-Fletchleys, who were always so welcoming. Hannah remembered several weekends spent running around that massive house, swimming in the pool and staying up late roasting marshmallows in the backyard while Justin's dad told scary stories. It was a terrible, senseless loss of two wonderful people.

Finally it was Justin who spoke. "Do you think I could take a shower here? I think I'd feel a lot better if I didn't look like a street walker."

Hannah nodded and stood up. "Sure, I'll get a room set up for you. Do you want some real food? I already have today's soup on and we have porridge."

Justin smiled. "Yeah, porridge'd be great Han, thanks."

Hannah returned the smile easily and went about getting him some food. She was so relieved and happy that Justin was alive, was here, that she could barely remember what her and Ernie had been talking about before he walked in the door.

_Oh right, we were probably about to break up. Bugger._

Justin ate as Ernie and Hannah caught him up on what had been going on for them for the past year. As they spoke Justin got a curious look on his face.

"Wait, are you two like…_ together_ now?"

Hannah blushed but Ernie beamed. "Yeah, finally, right mate?"

"That is brilliant!" Justin said, looking shocked but ecstatic at the news, "I wondered when you'd finally get up the nerve, Ern!"

Hannah raised her eyebrows. "How long have you thought about asking me out Ernie?"

"Oops!" Justin said, tucking back into his breakfast.

"Um, I don't know. I suppose I started fancying you back in…what would you say Finch? Third year?"

Justin nodded. "If not before."

Hannah stared blankly at Ernie before saying, "Seriously? But why, I mean, you and Susan?"

"You and Susan?!" Justin exclaimed, looking back and forth between them.

Ernie had the good sense to look abashed. "Well, um, I don't know. Can we talk about something else please?"

Hannah began clearing away the tea service and carried it back to the bar. Susan was still a touchy subject with her. Not necessarily because Susan had snogged Ernie when she knew explicitly how Hannah felt about him, but because of what Susan had said to her after the battle, after Kingsley had offered them positions in the Auror department and Hannah had begged her not to go.

_Being a Hufflepuff is about loyalty, Hannah. I'm going to fight for my family, even if you won't._

When she came back both boys were leaning towards each other, talking quietly. They grew silent as she got close. Feeling slightly agitated, bit still happy that Justin was there, she took a deep breath and pasted a smile back on her face.

"So, can I show you your room? There's a shower up there with everything you need. I don't have any clothes, but I can wash these real quick while you are in there."

Justin gave her a crooked smile and a quick glance at Ernie told her he was still slightly jealous of the connection Hannah and Justin had. Justin's disinterest in women aside, he'd always be her first kiss. Ernie would never let it go.

_Good. _

"Yeah, thanks Rabbit, you are the best!"

"Don't I know it!" Ernie said ostentatiously.

Hannah pursed her lips but just turned and walked towards the stairs.

When they were upstairs Justin asked, "So you and Ernie huh? When did that finally happen?"

She shrugged, not really keen to talk about a relationship that might end at any moment.

"Around Christmas I suppose. But we didn't really talk about it until after the battle."

Hannah remembered that conversation vividly. They were both in Ernie's dormitory, in his bed, very naked, having just lost their virginity. She figured she could save Justin all the details. Ernie could tell him if he wanted to.

"And how's it going?" he pressed, seeing her tight expression.

She shrugged again. "I don't really know right now. Listen, I'm so glad to see you and I want you to know that I love you very much, you are a great friend. No matter what happens with Ernie and me, ok?"

Justin gave her a worried look but nodded. "Sure."

Hannah sighed and gestured into the small room. "So here's the room. If you throw your clothes in that chute I'll hit them with a washing spell and send them back up."

"Great, thanks a million." Justin wrapped his arms around her again and squeezed tight. Then he leaned down and whispered, "I love you too Rabbit, no matter what."

Hannah felt her eyes sting with tears for what seemed like the tenth time that morning. "Thanks," she whispered back then left Justin to get cleaned up. She gave herself a few minutes before facing Ernie again. _What would she say? What would he say?_

Hannah walked back downstairs to see Ernie staring into his teacup. She might've thought he was practicing Divination if she didn't know how little he thought of that particular subject.

Delaying the inevitable she busied herself with wiping down the already clean tables around the pub as her stomach fluttered with anxiety.

She heard him sigh behind her but ignored it. Justin was alive, that was all she could focus on right now. When he was right behind her, Ernie placed a hand lightly on her shoulder and she froze. "Alright," he said.

"Alright, what?"

"If this is really what you want, then, well, alright. But I'm still going back."

She nodded. "I know."

Hannah placed her rag on the table and turned to look at him. His slicked back hair was already starting to come undone. She ran her fingers through it.

"You look like Draco Malfoy," she teased.

He scoffed at her and touched his wand to his head. It relaxed and fell flatly over his forehead.

She laughed, "Much better!"

Ernie leaned down to kiss her and she smiled against his lips. She had both of her boys back now. No matter what happened, they could all finally move forward.

* * *

Hannah felt a little dizzy as she plopped down on her bed. She thought that if she were going to drink too much wine, at least it was nice that her bedroom was only upstairs. Ernie had needed two pepper-ups before he could Apparate home after the long celebratory dinner they had had with Justin, Harry and Ginny. Susan hadn't come. Harry said she had gotten the owl but was too busy.

Hannah drank her glass of water down in one and grumbled to herself. She and Ernie were ok for the time being, but she knew in her heart that it wasn't meant to be anymore. That was okay with her. She and Justin would get to spend some time together now that he was staying at the Leaky with her. It was only she and Susan that needed to be reconnected. And Hannah knew it would have to be her that reached out. Susan was kind, fair and loyal, but she was also stubborn.

Hannah bumbled around the room drunkenly for a minute gathering parchment, quill and ink before plopping down at her desk and writing.

_Susan,_

_I guess you've heard that Justin is alright. Ernie said he wrote you. He is staying at the Leaky for the time being. I hope you can find time to come see him._

_I wanted to write you for a while now but things have been hectic. I'm sure they have been for you as well. Harry, Ron and Neville have all mentioned how demanding the Auror department is. How are you liking it?_

Hannah shook her head and scratched out the last paragraph. Now was not the time for niceties. She thought for a moment before writing exactly what she felt.

_Susan I miss you. Can't we just forget all the stupid things we said to each other and start over? You are my best friend. Justin's return has made me realize how stupid it is to purposely end a friendship as good as ours. _

_Please come see me. I'm living at the Leaky now. It's very demanding but I can always make time for you. Hope you are doing okay._

_Love,_

_Hannah_

Hannah let her eyes pass over the letter a few times before she rolled it up and sealed it with the black wax seal of the Leaky Cauldron. Then she made her way down the hall and attached her letter to one of the house owls before she changed her mind about reaching out to her estranged friend.

Hannah slumped down into a saggy armchair and watched the owl fly off into the night through heavy eyelids as she drifted off into a hazy, dreamless sleep.

* * *

_A/N 2: So there's a quick intro to the Hufflepuffs. We'll be seeing more of them as the story goes on. Susan is the next Puff to get a chapter. _

_A quick note about Arithmancy. According to the HPWiki Arithmancy is working with numbers, specifically to predict events. I've obviously branched out from this definition to encompass any sort of magical manipulation of numbers. There is no record that anyone at school teaches regular old math so this was what I came up with. _


	25. Exposed- Lavender

**May 27- Exposed**

**Lavender**

Lavender pushed her hair forward compulsively as she sat outside the café with Katie and Alicia. Katie has basically forced her out of the house, claiming that some fresh air and sunshine was just what she needed. While Lavender had to admit it was a beautiful day, she couldn't relax. This was the first time she had been out in public since it happened.

"Will you stop?" Alicia said, rolling her eyes at the younger girl. "You are stressing me out! No one is looking at you!" Lavender quickly let her hands fall to her lap but just as quickly they returned to fidget with her scarf, almost against her will.

Alicia shook her head and lit a cigarette causing Katie to groan. "Do you have to, Al? I hate it when you smoke!"

Alicia just shrugged and got up, standing a few feet away from the other two as they sipped their pumpkin coolers.

Katie's face set in a tight frown as she looked back at Lavender.

"How're you holding up?" she asked and Lavender smiled tightly.

"I'm ok, really. I know I'm being mental about the scars but I just feel like everyone_ knows_," she whispered the last word, glancing sideways as a family with a small child walked by.

Alicia snorted in laughter as she returned to the table.

"I doubt anyone in this Muggle suburb thinks you got bit by a werewolf! It just looks like a dog bite or something. Not that that's great but…" Alicia trailed off looking sheepish as Lavender saw Katie glare at her.

"I think what Alicia is trying to say," Katie went on, "is that you are imagining things. I don't even see them anymore and it's likely that anyone glancing over here is looking at Alicia's crazy hot pink 'do!"

Lavender laughed as Alicia modeled her new hairstyle, which was short and spiky with hot pink tips. Lavender would never do it, but she thought it fit Alicia, who had a bright personality and a loud laugh.

"I could do you if you want Lav!" Alicia said.

Lavender shook her head. "No thanks, I don't need anymore attention! I kind of just want to keep a low profile. It'll be hard enough if I take the job at Fred and George's." Lavender felt herself flush as she realized what she said. Alicia's smirk turned down sharply at the mention of her dead friend. Katie reached across the table to pat her hand.

"Um, sorry," Lavender said awkwardly. She was always putting her foot in her mouth when it came to the war. People had lost loved ones and all she cared about was her looks. _Pathetic._

Alicia blinked and shook her head. "No, no worries. What job are you talking about?"

Lavender bit her lip and pulled Lee's recently delivered letter from her bag.

"Um well, Lee says that George needs some help with the books that um, Fred, well he used to manage them."

Alicia raised her eyebrows. "And…?"

Lavender felt another slight flush flood her face, this time from embarrassment. She had always been so confident and proud of her accomplishments but now she felt like a braggart.

"Um, I'm pretty good with that sort of thing. My dad is an accountant."

"Oh, that's right!" Katie said cheerfully. "I forgot! Plus didn't you get one of the only O's in Arithmancy in your year?"

Lavender nodded. "Me and Hermione were the only ones, actually. Even MacMillan got an E."

She glanced between the two older girls and saw they both looked impressed.

"So wait, why did you say _if _you take the job? You should definitely take it!" Katie said excitedly.

Lavender played with her drink. "Well, I don't know any of the details yet."

Alicia peered over the table at her. "What did Lee say?" but before Lavender could answer Alicia pulled the letter from her hands and made to read it.

"Hey!" Lavender protested, but Alicia gave her an amused look and turned away to read it.

"Relax, Lav, Lee is my cousin. I already know how much he fancies you."

Lavender felt the wolfish rage pulse through her at the statement. She took several deep breaths as Alicia read until she felt Katie's hand on her back.

"It's alright, Lavender. Alicia is not a threat."

Lavender exhaled deeply and when she looked back at Alicia she thought she saw a hint of fear.

"Um, sorry. Didn't mean to get you upset. You don't want to talk about Lee?"

Lavender felt herself deflate. "There's nothing to talk about."

"I beg to differ. Do you fancy him?"

Lavender looked beseechingly at Katie but her friend was looking just as curious as Alicia.

"I don't know! It's not like we spend any time together! It's just-" she reached over and yanked the letter out of Alicia's hand, "letters! That's all it is and all it will ever be."

Lavender found herself smoothing the letter out now so she could add it to the collection she had made.

"What a crock of thestral dung," Alicia said dryly and Katie's laugh made Lavender laugh as well.

"It's not! Even if you are right and Lee does for some reason fancy me, he likely fancies the girl he remembers from Hogwarts, the one with perfect skin and-"

"A creepy obsession with Ron Weasley?" Alicia cut in with amusement written all over her face.

"It was not an obsession!" she argued but upon looking at their faces added, "More of an infatuation, I think. Nevermind that! We aren't talking about Ron."

Alicia pulled another cigarette and glanced at Katie. "I need to be smoking when I give advice.  
Back off Bell." She lit it and went on. "I don't think Lee ever really noticed you before, to be honest, Lav. Then at the battle I think he took a bit of a shine and then after, well, you've been so damn brave! Plus, I know Lee depends more on you for comfort than he even does from me. I don't know what you two write about but whatever it is, that's the girl he fancies, not some boy-crazy bird with a severely shortened uniform skirt."

Lavender stared back at her, feeling the emotions rip through her at full velocity. There was embarrassment about what Alicia was saying, yet she was also pleased. Lavender did want him to like her, like that, because she felt the same way, in all honesty. Yet the truth was disappointing.

"But I'm hideous, Alicia. I know you two see a scar on my cheek and think it's not so bad but the rest is much worse. How could I ever expect anyone to be attracted to me like this?!" She pulled back her scarf to show the mangled bundle of scar tissue on the right side of her neck. She looked to Katie to see that familiar look of sadness while Alicia seemed unfazed.

"Well, you shouldn't if you are going keep feeling sorry for yourself," Alicia finally said, stamping out her cigarette.

"Sorry?" Lavender said, defiantly.

"You are fucked up, I get it. None of us got out of that bloody war unscarred, Lavender. Lee lost his sister and his best mate, but there's something about you that makes it better. I think you are just afraid of what could happen if you let him in."

Lavender furrowed her brow. "I am letting him in. I'm trying, anyway. But even if he does think he fancies me, he doesn't know what he'd be getting himself into. I can be pretty mental," she argued solemnly, yet Alicia laughed.

"So are we or are we not talking about Ron?"

Lavender snorted. Lee was right, Alicia was really good at making light of any situation.

"Not, thanks. But, come on! Katie, you know what I mean! I can't control myself at times, I'm moody and irrational for no reason! And every time I look in the mirror I see nothing but a terrible mess!"

Katie looked at her gravely but then glanced in Alicia's direction and smiled.

"What?!" she finally snapped as the two good friends started giggling.

"Sorry, Lav, but you sound like a girl! Like any girl, not just one who was attacked. I mean, I feel the same way! I haven't let Seamus touch me in a month, you know that!"

Lavender wrinkled her nose at the thought of Seamus and Katie. Seamus had been Lavender's first kiss, way back in fourth year. She'd always see him as that fumbling, immature boy. Her attention was brought back to Katie when she added, "What I'm saying is that those things won't matter to the right person."

"How do I know that Lee is the right person?"

Alicia was the one who answered. "No offense, but I'm not totally sure he is. What I do know, is that he isn't going to quit until you give him a shot so why not see if there's anything more than just a friendship there. What do you have to lose?"

Lavender thought about this. Often, it felt like she had lost everything, especially when she was feeling particularly dramatic. Yet when she actually thought of it, she had her family and her closest friends. She was alive, she had survived the worst moment in her life. And wasn't Lee the one who saw her at her worst? If Alicia was right and he still fancied her after seeing that, well, maybe she should give it a shot. Finally Lavender looked up to see both girls staring at her.

"Ok, fine! I'll take the job! I'll see Lee! Will you two please drop it now?"

Both girls laughed at her exasperation. "Glad we finally got through that thick skull of yours!" Alicia cackled.

"Glad I could amuse you," Lavender said dryly as she carefully tucked the letter back into her bag.

* * *

Lavender was standing in front of the mirror. She had just walked away from the letter she started to Lee for the fourth time. She was starting to feel a little mental as several voices in her head were telling her what to do. She could hear Katie, assuring her that she was a good and beautiful person that anyone would be lucky to spend time with. She could hear Alicia telling her that Lee fancied her because she was brave and funny. But she could also see Ron, crying over the loss of her looks. She could hear her mother, whispering to her father about how it was understandable that someone as pretty as she would want to end it now, after what had happened. But what kept her writing was Lee. She still remembered that afternoon at St. Mungo's vividly, even though at the time she was drowsy from sleeping draught.

_Lavender had opened her eyes to see the hazy outline of a tall thin figure with dark skin and long black hair._

_"Parvati?" she rasped and then reeled at her throat grating against itself as though she was swallowing glass._

_The figure chuckled and it was a deep, smooth sound. This person was not Parvati._

_"I suppose I do look a bit like a girl, eh? It's the cheekbones, my mum says."_

_Lavender blinked several times to try and get the sleep out of her eyes. Her arms were heavy at her sides and so were useless. Finally the person moved closer and she could see his face now, smiling at her warmly._

_"It's Lee. Lee Jordan? I overheard the mediwitch talking about the girl from Hogwarts in room seven so I thought I'd come in and check on you. How's it going?"_

_Lavender stared at him in shock. How's it going? Who was this idiot? She remained silent as her throat was still in pain from speaking earlier._

_"Yeah, not great for me either. At least I'm getting released though. Apparently I'm not supposed to go running, tumbling, flying or Apparate for two to four weeks. My insides might start bleeding again. You need anything?" he added when she opened her mouth slightly. _

_Lavender furrowed her brow and shook her head ever so slightly. Lee smiled at her kindly and made to sit on the edge of her bed. She was shocked when he reached out and pushed her wild hair away from her cheek. _

_"It's going to be alright, you know? Just hang in there."_

_Lavender stared wide-eyed into the face of this boy who she had only ever seen in passing, usually in the company of Fred and George Weasley. She had listened to him on Potterwatch all year but didn't really know him. Now here he was, comforting her, smiling at her, even though his eyes were filled to the brim with tears._

_She gave him the smallest nod even though her throat protested painfully._

_"Good. I have to go before they find me. Reckon the sign on your door that says 'Keep Out: No Visitors' isn't merely a suggestion. Maybe I'll see you around."_

_She managed a small smile as he waved and walked back out of the curtain._

Lavender thought it had just been one of the several strange dreams she been having until she got his card a few days later.

Now it was a month later and she had since shared her deepest fears, her triumphs, her insecurities and her grievances with that same smiling boy in her dreams. She had also been able to give him comfort, advice and the occasional funny story_. It was going to be alright._

* * *

_Lee,_

_Yes, that does sound preferable to sitting around the house reorganizing my closet again. When should I come in?_

_I went out with Katie and Alicia yesterday. Yes, your Alicia. She did mention that she was impressed with your new look. You were right about her, she is quite funny. I can see how you two would get along._

_Congratulations on the interview! I looked at some tealeaves with you in mind but I'm not telling you anything! Ha!_

_But seriously, let me know how it goes. Both because I'm interested and because I want to see if my divination skills are up to par._

_Guess I'll see you soon. _

_Lavender_

* * *

_Author's Note: So much italics! This is my first attempt at writing a flashback. Hope it was clear. _

_Thank you again to all my new followers and favorites as well as everyone you reviews and sticks with this story! It is a pleasure to write knowing that there are people out there enjoying it!_

_Next up is Susan Bones, hopefully I'll have it finished quite soon._


	26. Inclusive- Susan

**May 28- Inclusive**

**Susan**

Susan Bones was looking at the top of her desk for the first time in three weeks. She had finally gotten ahead of the mass amounts of paperwork that needing filing, duplicating, forwarding or incinerating. She straightened the few items that she had decorated her small desk with before it had become covered by paperwork: her phoenix feather quill, her gobstones trophy from the year she finally beat Ernie and two framed photographs. The first was a family photo from when she was a child. Her mother, her Aunt Amelia and her Uncle Randolph were sitting in front of a Christmas tree laughing uproariously as Susan performed ballet moves for all of them. The second was a group shot of her, Colin, Hannah and Ernie from this past year. Colin had found a timer that worked with his camera at a muggle shop and was so excited about it that he had ignored her warnings against sneaking into the school to show it to her.

Thankfully he hadn't gotten caught flying in or out of Hogsmeade and the resultant snogging session had been quite pleasant, if she remembered it correctly.

The only remaining scrap of paper was the letter she had received the night before from Hannah. It had been sloppy and scratched out in places in such a way that made Susan think Hannah had either been extremely distraught when she wrote it, or pretty pissed.

Susan was now remembering the night Colin had delivered to them several bottles of brandy disguised as butterbeer. He had delivered them himself and though she had a small heart attack when he fluttered down onto the table and held out his talon with the attached note telling her to carry him up to her dormitory, no one else was the wiser, though she and Hannah had horrible headaches all weekend long.

Susan found herself smirking mirthlessly. Colin had been so pleased when his animagus form turned out to be an owl. He insisted it would afford him all sorts of opportunities and it would keep him safe. _Bloody brave idiot._

"Oi, Bones, you alright?" a voice called into her office and she glanced up to see Tully's concerned face peeking in on her. She wiped her eyes hastily and coughed.

"Um, yeah, yes. I'm fine, thanks."

Tully frowned at her but nodded. "Alright then, come eat soon, yeah?"

Susan forced a smiled and nodded in reply, not taking her eyes off the photograph.

Everything still reminded her of him. Sometimes she felt angry at him for it, as if it was his fault that Susan couldn't put on a damn jumper in the morning without remembering a time she had worn it while kissing him, nor send a damn piece of mail without wondering if maybe the owl delivering it was actually him in disguise.

Hannah had chosen a massive eagle owl to deliver her letter. An owl most likely reserved for large packages. She wondered if this had been intentional. Colin's animagus had been a tiny boreal owl with wide shutter eyes and a patch of dirty blonde feathers atop his head. There could be no mistaking the two.

Susan sighed and shoved the letter into her desk drawer. At this point she could hardly remember why she had been avoiding Hannah, if for no other reason than she too reminded her of the boyfriend she had lost. It wasn't fair for her to take out her anger and grief on her best friend. She thought about what she would say in her return letter, but knew that now was not the time to return it. She was too worked up from her memories of Colin. Besides, her meeting with Robards was at one o'clock so she needed to get down to the cafeteria soon before it was too late to eat.

Susan grabbed her usual and looked around the room. Neville had left for lunch twenty minutes before her but she couldn't see him anywhere. She had to admit that he was quite a good office mate. He was often quiet, either chipping away at his own overflowing mound of paperwork or sneaking glances at one of the herbology tomes he kept tucked away in his bookshelf. During the times when he was chatty, she was reminded of Hannah. They were both so earnest she could hardly stand it. At times Susan knew her dry sense of humour had put Hannah off, and in the same way she had caused Neville to pause mid-conversation before she would laugh and tell him to relax.

Seeing no sign to Potter, Weasley or Longbottom, Susan made her way over to where Tully and Williamson were sitting together. If the rumours were true, she might be interrupting something, but that was just too bad. She didn't want to eat alone again today.

"You made it!" Tully said happily, sliding down the table so that Susan could join them. Her tone indicated that Susan was not breaking up two secret lovers and Williamson's look of friendly welcome made her relax even more.

"Yeah, I'm starved actually but I was damned if I didn't get my desk cleaned off today! I hate clutter!" she said, digging into her sandwich.

Williamson chuckled, shaking his head. "You'd hate my office then. Proudfoot and I are a pair of pigs, I admit it!"

Tully chuckled. "Tis true. You are disgusting men. How's sharing an office with Longbottom, anyway? He a mess?"

Susan shook her head. "Nah, he's alright. I mean, I don't think he could get to the bottom of his stack if he tried, but he keeps it orderly. Have you seen him, actually? He was going to show me something at lunch today."

Tully shook her head but Williamson just smirked. "Aye, saw him get scooped up by the Chosen Two as he was coming in. Reckon they went of to the Leaky as usual."

Susan frowned. Potter and Weasley were inseparable that was to be expected. But Susan thought she and Neville had become friends last year in the DA. Suddenly his mates were back and it was like she didn't exist.

"Ah, forget 'em!" Tully said through a mouth full of chips. "Bunch of silly little boys! Man, I wish I could be there when you all start your combat training in the fall. Won't be so tough then!"

Both Aurors laughed almost evilly as Susan stared wide-eyed. She had already signed up for Auror training, as had Harry. Neville had remained aloof as to whether or not he was going to fully commit to the task and Susan hadn't said two words to Ron Weasley since before he left for Australia.

"Is it really that bad?" she asked, trying not to let her fear show.

Williamson cracked a sly smile. "Parts of it are, or were for me anyway. I don't think anyone got through it without a fail. I mean Tonks flattened me at Concealment but I dominated in Stealth!"

Susan watched as Tully and Williamson fell into a quiet silence, both likely remembering the friend and colleague they had lost.

"Poisons, that was my rough area," Tully finally said, snapping them all of out their own heads.

"You could probably slip something into my lunch and I'd still be unable to detect it!"

Williamson rolled his eyes while Susan looked at them both questioningly.

"No sense of smell!" Tully finally explained with a laugh. "Burned my sinuses out second year at Hogwarts. Ruddy Snape. He might've been a potions whiz but he was a lousy teacher. I'm glad Slughorn is back, at least for a while."

"You had Slughorn?" Susan asked in surprise. Tully nodded while Williamson shook his head.

"Aye, just first year. He retired after that. Then Snape came in all pompous and condescending. Never liked him! I stand by it! I don't care what he did for who or what. He was a git."

Williamson snorted and ran a hand through his long brown hair. "I was never fussed with him, honestly. I mean, I never had Slughorn, but I'm what? Three years younger than you?"

Tully nodded and made to clean up her lunch things. "That's right, Liam. Which means I'm more experienced than you, vis-a-vis, higher up the ladder," she teased, giving Susan a little wink.

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that," Williamson said dryly, now tying his long hair up into a ponytail again. "Don't worry about the training, Bones, you'll do fine. Hell, you've already proven yourself! Just don't let the stress of it get to you, yeah?"

Susan felt herself blush involuntarily but nodded. It was refreshing to talk with these two older, slightly seasoned Aurors. This was new and fresh and did not remind her of Colin or really even the battle at all, even though they were still fighting those who remained loyal to Voldemort who were still lashing out against the rest of the wizarding world.

"Blimey, one already? I need to get up to Robards' office," Tully whined, flicking her wand to send her tray clattering onto the bussing counter.

"You have a meeting with Robards too?" Susan asked curiously, wrapping the rest of her sandwich and sending her own tray across the room.

Tully nodded and stood up. "Shall we?" she said with a smile and Susan glanced quickly at Williamson before standing up and following her from the cafeteria.

"Have fun!" Williamson called, leaning back in his seat and kicking his feet up on the table.

Susan hurried to keep up with the long legs and quick pace of Evangeline Tully.

"Do you know - why he wants - to see us?" Susan asked shortly, becoming almost out of breath as she jogged up to where Tully was now pressing a button on the lift.

Tully shrugged, holding the grate open for her. "Could be anything. Might be a lead on a case. Could be something boring like paperwork procedures. Oh, maybe…" but Tully trailed off as they made their way to Robards' office.

"What?" Susan asked but Tully just smiled and knocked.

"Enter!" said the gruff voice of Gawain Robards.

The two women entered and sat across from the older, but still well-muscled wizard. Robards had been an auror over twenty years though he didn't seem to have a visible scar on his body. Age was starting to show itself, however, through the gray hair at his temples, the frown lines next to his mouth and the slight pooch around his middle. Robards tapped his fingers on the desk and glanced between them.

"If you are wondering why I called you both here, I can assure you it is nothing of concern," he began slowly. "We have received the final registrations for Auror training and are now pairing up the junior aurors with their-"

"Mentors! I knew it!"

Robards gave Tully a sardonic look. "Well done, Tully. I'm glad your deduction skills have improved over the last…eight years."

Tully looked like she wanted to fight back but instead pressed her lips together tightly.

"Anyway, there will have to be some shifting of offices to accommodate the pairings. Miss Bones, you will be simply switching desks with Proudfoot. Potter, meanwhile, will take Tonks' desk."

Both women looked at each other. Susan didn't need eight years as an Auror to reason out the pairings.

"Sir, does that mean I'm paired with Williamson?"

Robards nodded curtly. "That's right, Bones, and Evangeline, you will be mentoring Mr. Potter."

"But, I thought, Savage…you said he would need to be paired with someone who was highly skilled!" Tully's voice was full of both confusion and argument as she looked at Susan for an answer. Susan just shrugged. Robards sighed and folded his hands on top of his desk.

"He does. And you are. But he also needs someone who can take him in stride. Savage has no patience for the boy. You will be a good mentor. As for you," Robards turned to look at Susan now and she scooted back in her chair at his tone.

"Williamson will be able to provide you with guidance in the areas where you are weakest."

Susan flushed at the word. The last thing she wanted was to appear weak. Robards went on.

"Though you have shown proficient ability in dueling and defensive spellwork, you need to work on channeling your emotions in a more productive way. He can help you separate your personal feelings, from your professional performance."

Robards gave her a knowing look and she bowed her head. Susan had seen the report after Carrow's arrest. The fact that all of his fingernails were gone had not been missed.

"What about Weasley?" Tully asked harshly. She did not seem ready to admit defeat. "I thought Liam was to be paired with Ron and Proudfoot was getting Longbottom."

Robards pressed his fingers together in a way that Susan felt resembled Dumbledore.

"Longbottom has decided to forgo training at this time," Robards said with some finality. Tully did not drop it.

"And Weasley?" she pressed on.

"Is not currently eligible," Robards added quickly before saying, "So it's settled then." It was obvious to Susan that Robards did not wish to speak of mentor assignments any longer. "Bones, you will pack up anything you want to take with you at the end of today and tomorrow you will move into your new office. Tully, Potter will join you in the morning as well. Now if there are no other questions I-"

"Why did you have us come here together?! Why not have us meet with our new partner? You knew what it was going to look like," Tully said, looking angrier than Susan felt was warranted for the situation. _Did she really dislike Harry so much?_

Susan turned her attention back to Robards who was looking at Tully with what resembled pity, or maybe it was sadness.

"Because I knew it was what you hoped, and I wanted to let you down in person. Besides, I didn't want you to show disappointment in front of your new mentee." Robards paused for a moment before saying quietly, "Eva, she's not Tonks. You can't expect Bones here to fill those shoes."

Susan heard Tully sniff and turned to look at her. It was the first time she'd ever seen her like this. She always seemed so…unfazed.

When Tully made no reply, Robards stood up. "Very well. I will see both of you tomorrow. And Miss Bones," he said as Susan made to follow Tully out the office door. She turned to look at him. "I'm sure you understand that everything you've heard in this room is to remain strictly confidential?"

Susan simply nodded and left. By the time she entered the hallway, Tully was gone.

* * *

Susan stepped onto the carpet of the Leaky Cauldron's common room and held her breath. This was going to be hard.

She made her way down the stairs but stopped after a few steps, taking in the scene. At the bar were George, Lee and Seamus laughing uproariously about something while Neville, Harry, Ron and Ginny were tucked into a booth eating dinner and chatting happily. Susan's eyes glazed over when she saw Hannah beaming, carrying a tray piled over with food and drinks to a table of raucous patrons.

Susan felt like an outsider in this reverie. Everyone looked so happy it felt surreal. Didn't they remember what had happened? Didn't they remember the war? The people who died? Susan walked slowly back up the stairs, turning at the last moment to reenter the common room. Once inside she crouched on the floor and began to sob. She cried harder than she had in a month, since she saw Colin's crumpled form lying in the Great Hall. _How dare they move on! How dare she…_

"Susan?" Hannah's voice was full of worry as she stood in the doorway watching Susan fall apart on the ground.

Susan looked at her with desperation. She wanted to scream at her for forgetting, for smiling and laughing, but she also wanted to reach out to her for comfort and solace.

"Sorry, I- I just…" Susan choked out before Hannah fell to her knees and embraced her tightly.

"Shh," Hannah said as she rocked her gently. After a few moments the tears stopped and Susan pulled herself together. This was not how she wanted the others to see her.

"I'm alright, Han, thanks," she said finally, pulling away and wiping her eyes. They were both silent as Susan cleaned herself up. Finally, Hannah whispered, "You're here."

Susan forced a tight smile and looked up at her. "Yeah. I came to talk to you. I got your letter. Then I went out into the pub and I don't know, I just lost it. I'm such a bloody wreck still." It felt good to say it aloud, having struggled to appear composed amongst her peers at the Ministry while inside she was still grieving. Hannah rubbed her hands over Susan's shoulders and looked into her face. Susan could see the genuine love and concern there.

"S'alright, Susan, I understand. We all have those days, you know? I'm so glad to see you. I've missed you so much."

Susan sniffed and nodded. "Yeah, I missed you too. I wish we could've had a better reunion though," she said, gesturing to them sitting on the floor of the Leaky's common room.

Hannah laughed. "Welcome to my life, Susan. You are not the first person I've walked in on crying in here, and I doubt you'll be the last."

Susan looked up at her in surprise. "Really? You mean?" she pointed to the door in the question. Hannah nodded.

"Oh yeah, like I said, we all have those days. Everyone is still a wreck."

"But, they all seem so…happy."

Hannah heaved herself up and then helped Susan to her feet.

"They are all doing the best they can, just like you. Working here, you really get to see people. No one is over it."

Susan sighed then walked over to plop herself down on the sofa. Hannah joined her, sitting closely. They had always been that way, incredibly comfortable in each other's space. Susan leaned down and rested her head on Hannah's shoulder.

"This is so fucked, Han," Susan said after a while and Hannah snorted.

"Language," she said teasingly and Susan smiled.

"Sorry," she whispered, hoping that her apology could span the events of the last month.

She heard Hannah sigh and looked up at her face. She seemed older than Susan remembered her. During their school years, Susan had always felt as though she were ageing exponentially while Hannah was still a wide-eyed little girl with pig-tails. Looking into her face now it was clear Hannah had finally caught up.

"Me too."

They sat in comfortable silence for a few moments, Susan finding calm in the steady breathing of the friend next to her. Finally Hannah shifted herself to look at Susan.

"I need to go back down. I'll be free at eleven if you want to hang around with everyone in the pub. I usually get a few moments here and there to chat."

Susan nodded but frowned. She wasn't sure she could hold it together for that long.

"Yeah, I'll be down in a bit," she said and Hannah grabbed her hand, squeezing it tightly.

"Take all the time you need."

* * *

_Author's Note: There is a large amount of backstory that will eventually get published about Susan and Colin, though I'm not letting myself work on it too much lest I get sidetracked from this story. But just know all of the storyline between Susan and Colin is not based on any canon and is just part of my personal HP universe. I also wanted Colin to be an unregistered animagus because other than the three marauders and Rita Skeeter, we never hear of any other unregistered animagi. I think of him as the human version of Pigwidgeon. _

_Feel free to ask me any questions you have about this pairing if anything is unclear._

_We will learn more about Colin from others throughout the next month. _

_As usual, thank you for reading, reviewing and adding my story! _

_Seamus is the next chapter and I'm hoping to post it tomorrow._


	27. Grounded- Seamus

**May 29- Grounded**

**Seamus**

Seamus had a very productive day at work. He had been the cause of over twenty explosions and all of which were greeted with cheers and raucous laughter from George and Lee. He loved his new job.

Seamus had never been the best at anything, well not anything he could brag about. He had been deemed more than adequate in bed by the only witch he had ever slept with, and he was brilliant at blowing things up. Not exactly the makings of a winning CV. Except if you wanted to work at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

He watched as Lee and George used a hover charm to move the rest of an exploding armchair out back into the trash bin. Spending time with those two made his heart ache for Dean, though he wouldn't admit it to anyone except Katie. He hadn't seen his best mate since a few days after the war, when Dean's mother decided they were starting their trip to America early. Seamus had actually wept when they said goodbye, then punched a wall very hard and broke his finger. Dean had wept too but then laughed when Seamus broke his finger. A true best mate.

"So what's good to do around here on a Friday, eh?" Seamus asked when they came back inside. He watched them glance at each other quickly with smirks. "What?" he added, furrowing his brow.

"Well mate," George said slyly, placing an arm around Seamus' shoulder and steering him towards the door. "What's good for you is right outside." And with that George Weasley pushed him out the door with a laugh.

At first Seamus felt hacked off for being dismissed until he saw his beautiful girlfriend standing before him.

"Hiya," she said happily before wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Hey!What are yeh doin' here?" he asked, giving her a quick peck.

Katie shrugged, pulling away from the hug and worrying her lip.

"Everyt'ing ok?"

Katie nodded, still not meeting his eye. "Yeah, everything's good. You want to go for a walk?"

Seamus felt his hands go clammy. Why was it that every time his girlfriend wanted to talk to him he felt afraid she was going to ditch him? Wasn't he supposed to be cool, confident, Seamus Finnegan?

Instead of voicing these fears Seamus simply nodded and grabbed her hand, letting her take the lead. They walked along silently for several minutes as Katie looked at storefronts and Seamus looked at Katie. Seamus thought if he had to name his favorite things to do, one of them would be watching Katie react to the world around her. She was so beautiful and when she was surprised, or excited, or amazed, her beauty was only magnified.

"So how're things?" he finally said when the silence became too much for him.

Katie glanced at him and sighed. "Good. Well, pretty good. Um, well, I got a job today."

Seamus stopped short pulling Katie's arm back towards him. "What's this now? Yeh got a job? Doing what?"

Katie blushed slightly. "Um, it's just an office job, at the Ministry. With my dad," she added quietly, as if she was ashamed to be working with family.

"That's brilliant, Kay! Inn't it?"

Katie nodded slightly. "It's good, yes. I'm getting out of the house and making some money. It's just…"

Katie furrowed her brow and Seamus copied her.

"What?"

"Well, I know you were wanting to go to America, with me. But, well, I don't think I can now, you know?"

Seamus just nodded and kicked a bit of dirt on the ground. They had finally worn down Katie's mum about the prospect of her traveling overseas to visit with Dean and his family. Dean's mum Sharon, though, had been the one to win her over with assurances that they were both more than welcome and they would be perfectly safe with Dean's grandparents in New York. And now they couldn't go at all.

Katie squeezed his hand and Seamus was pulled from these disappointing thoughts.

"It'll be ok, Shay. You're only going for two weeks, yeah? We've gone longer without seeing each other before."

Seamus blinked at her before comprehension came over him. He could still go. Of course he could still go. It meant leaving Katie behind, but she would still be here when he got back. Wouldn't she?

"Erm, you want me t' go still?"

Katie rolled her eyes. "Of course, you ninny! Dean's your best mate! You already have leave from work, go! I'll be busy with the new job, plus I really should spend some more time with Dad…"

Seamus' eyes roamed over Katie's face as she trailed off. Katie had a rocky relationship with her father, he knew that. Though Seamus' dad was not around much, they always had a close relationship. Katie's father, on the other hand, was around frequently, but only out of what Seamus felt was a sense of duty and not actual love.

"That's great, Katie. You are such a doll, you know that?"

Katie blushed and looked away coyly. Merlin he loved her.

They continued walking around Diagon Alley, though the further they got away from Wheezes the more ramshackle the buildings looked. Several still hadn't been repaired since the war had ended.

Katie was chatting about her friends, prominently Lavender Brown, as they turned down a side street.

"…has Lee mentioned her? I mean, you see him often, right? Shay?"

Seamus had gotten distracted by a large red ball sitting in the middle of the road.

"Is that a quaffle?"

Katie's attention was turned towards the ball and she laughed. "It is! How strange!" Katie let go of his hand and walked over to pick up the ball. Instinctively she tucked it up under her arm, keeping it pinned against her chest like the chaser that she was. Seamus smiled and held his hands out. Katie shook her head, looking devious.

"Come and get it!" she called and he ran after her, laughing. Katie did a very good job of keeping the quaffle from him until they reached a dead end and he was able to pry the large ball from her grasp, holding it high above his head.

"I'm taller than you, wanker!" she said, laughing so hard now that she could barely reach up. Seamus jerked his arms back quickly when she suddenly jumped for it and it slipped from his fingers, flying into a storefront window opposite them and shattering the glass loudly.

"Ah shite!" Seamus cried, spinning around to assess the damage.

"_Reparo!_" Katie said, her wand already drawn. The glass repaired itself the best it could, though several areas still spidered with cracks.

"Oops!" Seamus said, smiling as Katie gave him an exasperated look.

"You're lucky it's already pretty busted up!"

Seamus nodded in agreement, looking over the wreck of a shop. The doorway was boarded up, as were the two upper windows. Part of the roof looked to be blown apart and the sign was hanging lopsided from a single chain. Seamus could just make out the faded paint that read _"Chortney's Sporting Supplies: We've got Balls!"_

"'S'an old Quidditch Supply," Seamus said quietly.

Katie walked over and took his hand. It felt as clammy as his did.

"It's for sale," she said, just as quietly, although there was no one around to hear them.

"So 'tis."

_This was it._

* * *

"I can't believe this is your room!" Seamus exclaimed as he picked up a pink pouf of a pillow from the purple chair in the corner of Katie's bedroom. As Seamus looked around, the only thing he saw that told him this room was in fact Katie's were the posters of the Holyhead Harpies and the muggle band, Garbage, that she was completely obsessed with. She also had several framed pictures cluttering an otherwise unused vanity. Seamus looked them over and smiled as he found one of them together.

"You framed this, aye?" he teased, looking over at her. She pursed her lips and walked over to look at the photo with him.

"Well, yeah. I mean, it's a good photo!" she countered, tracing her finger over Seamus' laughing face in the photograph. It was from her welcome back party, where Seamus had put small whizz-bangs on her cake instead of candles. The resulting explosion had covered them both in cake and they were laughing hysterically.

Seamus smiled sadly. "'Tis. Colin took th' best photos."

Katie sighed and leaned against him. "We let him down, didn't we?" she asked quietly, as if the room was listening.

Seamus furrowed his brow but shook his head stubbornly. "Nah, we did our best by him, Katie. Plus, he wasn't 'bout t' be protected by th' likes a us! He had Susan for that!"

Instinctively, Seamus wrapped his arm around her waist and squeezed. He couldn't imagine having lost Katie in the war. Sometimes he still had nightmares that she never woke up from the coma and he would wake suddenly to find that same photo, which was pinned next to his bed.

In his periphery, Seamus kept eyeing Katie's bed, meticulously made with a fluffy lavender bedspread and decorated with a few similarly girly pillows and three small stuffed animals. As his thoughts moved from Colin's passing, Seamus couldn't help but thinking of the warm body he was embracing. If only he could get them from here to there without seeming like a randy git.

Seamus broke the embrace and walked slowly over to the bed, picking up the stuffed purple dragon that was nestled between her pillows. "Seriously, Kay, who decorated this place? I thought your favorite color was blue."

"Yes, well remembered. My mum decorated it like this for me when I was younger and since I started at Hogwarts I've never really spent a lot of time in it, have I?"

Seamus looked up at her in surprise and sat on the edge of the bed. _Stay cool, Finnegan._

"Haven't you?"

Katie rolled her eyes and walked over to him, plopping down on the mattress.

_Stay. Cool._

"I usually spend half of the summer with my dad, remember? So that means I've only got about two months a year to spend in this room, which isn't actually so bad, thank you very much!" she finished, pushing him teasingly on the shoulder.

Seamus grabbed her hand and pulled her close to him, smiling.

"I didn't say it's bad. I just didn't know I fell for such a prim little lass!" Seamus pressed his lips lightly to hers, testing the waters. He wanted nothing more than to throw her down on the bed, this being their first time actually alone, with privacy in…well, Seamus couldn't remember.

Katie kissed him back, still smiling. "Sorry, you rather I was more like darling Dean?" she shot back with a devious glint in her eye.

_Oh, she was going to get it now!_

Seamus wrestled her to the bed and began tickling the areas he knew were the most sensitive. Katie screeched with laughter as she fought his attack. Seamus straddled her but tried not to give away his immense excitement at the situation. He felt like a kid, which was both embarrassing and exhilarating.

"Get off me Shay! You prick! Ahh!" she squealed as he moved his hand up under her shirt to tickle her waist.

"Oof!" Seamus grunted as she hit him with a swift elbow to the stomach. He raised his hands in surrender and sat back on her legs as they both caught their breath.

"S-sorry!" she gasped, still recovering from being tickled. "I've warned you though! You want to play like that, I can't be held responsible for what hap-"

Seamus fell forward again and placed a hand on either side of her head. Snogging had never seemed so exciting as he felt Katie's soft body under him. He was in her bedroom, on her bed. And they were snogging!

He couldn't help but chuckle and Katie pulled away, her eyebrows raised in question.

Seamus shook his head. "'S'Nothing, I was just thinking about how much I love you," he said in reply to the look.

"And why is that funny?"

Seamus ran a hand over her face. "Because I'm such a wanker half th' time, you know? I'm always laughing at stupid shite and takin' th' piss. It's funny that I am this person now, at least sometimes."

Katie gave him a wide smile and shifted under him.

"I'm glad you are this person, at least sometimes."

"It has its perks," he said, and went back to kissing her.

After several long moments of wriggling around and groping safely clothed areas, Seamus got up his courage and moved a hand slowly under Katie's top. They had done much more than this before. But that was before.

And now that it was after, Seamus felt like he could barely do anything that didn't make Katie uncomfortable.

As if on cue, Seamus' hand grazed the bottom of her bra and she pulled away from his lips, looking fearful.

"Shay…" she started and he lowered his hand to rest on her smooth stomach.

"What?" He tried not to let the exasperation leak into his voice. That was what had caused the huge blow up at Colin's funeral. _Why had she pulled him into that bathroom in the first place, if not to feel better? To feel connected?_ Seamus tried not to think of that right now.

"I'm sorry, Shay, I know you think it's stupid. But I just think, maybe, not tonight, alright?" Katie looked worried that he would blow up. Seamus did not want a girlfriend that was afraid of him.

He sighed and gave her a quick peck, removing his hand completely. "Yeah, a' course. No problem."

Katie gave him a tight smile. "Sorry."

Seamus sat back against the pillows and pulled her up to face him. "Don't. It's fine, love, honest. Just, I mean, let me know, when you're ready, yeah?"

Katie reached out and squeezed his knee. "You'll be the first to know, I promise."

"Brilliant."

* * *

Seamus lit his wand as he walked up the pathway to his home. The lights were still on in the sitting room and he hoped his mother wasn't waiting up for him, worrying. He had told her he'd be late tonight, though he had originally thought it was going to be due to a night out with the boys, tying one on, not adding to the already unbearable sexual tension he was forced to deal with on a daily basis.

Seamus couldn't understand why Katie had simply shut down after the war. He knew about the scars on her breasts from that arsehole Carrow. He had felt them briefly in the ten minutes they were able to get off together in a broom closet between classes back in March. He also knew she carried scars from the explosion that had knocked her through a window and out into the grounds.

_He had followed her, sailing through the window as though he were diving into a lake, except he had only been met with hard ground instead of water. Katie lay unconscious next to a pile of rubble and Seamus pleaded to anyone who could hear for her to be alive. It had been Aberforth that scooped her up, as Seamus crouched unhelpfully on his knees at her side._

_"She's alive, Finnegan, but she needs the hospital wing," he had said and Seamus nodded as tears poured down his face. He could see the place on her thigh where robes mixed with bloody flesh and bile rushed into his throat._

He could taste it now as he undid the wards on his house.

Katie had always been stronger than him; quicker to heal, to forgive, to bounce back. That was something he loved about her. Yet it was just now that he realized she might need more time to heal from this. And he would be better, be more patient, more understanding. Even if that meant he was to be celibate until he slipped that stupid bloody ring on her finger.

Seamus opened the front door quietly and his attention immediately fell on two people already occupying the sitting room. He froze in horror, the familiar taste of bile in his mouth once again.

"Hamish, oh!"

Seamus wanted nothing more than for his eyes to melt out of his head as he jerkily made his way back out of the house, closing the door as quietly as he could and practically running around the house to the broomshed. Once his vision was unclouded by the sights and sounds of his parents..._shagging_, he was able to take in the information that could be gathered from that disgusting display of affection.

_One, his father was back from wherever he'd gone and was unharmed._

_Two, they were both very happy to see each other._

_And three,_ Seamus laughed out loud involuntarily, _even his divorced parents were getting more action than he was._

* * *

_Author's Note: I know a lot of you are pulling for Seamus. That's good, he needs all the support he can get!_

_Tomorrow is Neville! _

_Thanks for your reviews! I'm almost to 100, hooray!_


	28. Opportunity- Neville

_Author's Note: Firstly, thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapters! I really appreciate it!_

_Ratings note: This chapter contains scenes of an intimate nature and while they aren't graphic I would say it's more T 15+. It's all very awkward and sweet, really. _

* * *

**May 30- Opportunity**

**Neville**

"Luna?"

No response.

"Luna, please."

Still nothing.

"Luna!"

"Yes, Neville?" she replied, as if he hadn't been trying to get her attention for the last five minutes.

"Luna, if we want to get back before dark, we'd better pack it in." Neville was looking at her but she was staring distractedly into some small holes made by a stack of stones on the side of the trail they'd been hiking all day.

_All bloody day. _

Luna had wanted to go hiking in a forest in northern Scotland. She had said that her new book mentioned a few sightings of some Weetimorousbeasties and she was hoping to see one. Neville agreed to go, because well, she was his girlfriend now, so he basically had no choice, according to both Ron and Harry. He had also been hoping to collect some magical plants in the area. So far, they had both come up empty handed, though Luna could swear the tracks they stumbled across belonged to a herd of thestrals while Neville figured they were likely just deer tracks.

Now it was almost dusk and Neville was dirty, sweaty, tired and hungry. He was beginning to think this whole 'relationship' thing was overrated.

"Oh, I was actually thinking we might camp out here tonight," she replied airily, poking the end of her wand into one of the holes.

Neville froze. "Camp? Out here? But we don't have any supplies!"

_And we'll be sleeping together. Together. Together. _Neville started to sweat just thinking about it.

They had shared quite a few more very nice kisses since their first date, as well as some handholding, hair caressing and, once, a neck kiss. Then only a few days ago Neville accidentally rubbed her bum instead of her back and almost melted from embarrassment when he realized he could feel the lining of her knickers.

He was brought back to the present at the touch of Luna's hand. "Neville? Are you all right? If you don't want to camp with me, you can go home. I won't be offended."

He looked down at her and was met with a very genuine smile. He tried to return it but faltered.

_Be a man, Neville._

"No, I do want to camp with you. I was just surprised. Where's the tent and all that?"

Luna opened her rucksack and pulled out a small ball of canvas.

"This is the tent. I also brought some food. You must be very hungry because I'm hungry and you always get hungry before I do," she rambled, placing the tent back into her bag and grabbing his hand.

"Shall we find a place to set up?" she asked, pulling him along before he could answer.

He wondered how big the tent was. He wondered if there'd be two beds and if they would sleep separately. _Of course they'd sleep separately. _He wondered what she wore to bed and where they would change. He hadn't brought pyjamas.

"How about here?" she declared, rocking slightly as he bumped into her.

Neville looked around and was very impressed by the location. Though they were high up now, Luna had found them a flat meadow filled with the wildflowers of early summer.

"Wow, Luna, this is perfect," he said, giving her hand a little squeeze.

Luna smiled but then let go of his hand and began to set up camp. With a simple '_Erecto'_ Luna had the tent set up. She held the tent flap open for him and then followed him inside.

It was a nice, but simple, three-person tent. There were two beds, a double and a single, a small table with three chairs, a scullery kitchen and a WC.

"It's brilliant," Neville said, as he took a seat in one of the chairs, almost groaning with relief to finally be sitting down after hiking all day.

"Yes, I quite like it in here. When mum was alive, we would go camping all the time. After she died, Daddy didn't want to go anymore, but sometimes I'd set the tent up in the yard and sleep out there by myself," she said lightly.

Neville reached out and circled his hand around her wrist. He pulled her close to him and then shifted so she could sit on his lap.

"Since then," she went on, seemingly unfazed by the affection Neville was showing, "we've gone camping a few times, but not in a while. Then we stayed in here last week when we were repairing the house. That's why I have it. It was packed away but we needed it to sleep and I took it before Daddy could put it back in storage. I'd quite like to spend most of my time camping, wouldn't you?"

Neville had been listening to her sweet yet sad story as he traced the woodwork with his fingertips. As he looked up to respond to her question, however, he found himself face-to-face with Luna's chest. Suddenly, he couldn't remember.

"Er, dunno," was all he could say as he tried to find something else to focus on than the rise and fall of her torso as she breathed.

"Well, I would think that as an herbologist, you'd want to travel all over the world to study plants."

_Inhale. Exhale. Inhale…exhale._

"S'pose you're right," he said, noncommittally.

There was silence as he felt Luna shift her weight on his lap. Neville didn't think he could handle this.

_Please stop moving. Please stop moving. Oh, why did I think lapsitting was a good idea?!_

"How would you like to sleep?" Luna asked suddenly and his eyes shot up to hers, wide and terrified. She giggled. "Well that got your attention."

"Um…er…well, I…er." Speech was useless. How was he supposed to answer a question like that?

"I guess I should clarify my question," Luna offered. "You are taller than me, so it makes sense for you to have the larger of the two beds either way. I suppose I was wondering if you'd like me to sleep in the double with you or if you'd like it to yourself." Neville tried to focus on her sweet, innocent smile and it helped ease the hormonal monster that was struggling to get out.

"Yeah, that sounds good," he replied, trying to sound more confident than he felt.

"Neville, I asked you an 'either/or' question. Either you sleep in the double bed alone, or we sleep together." She was talking to him slowly and clearly the way Hermione used to in Potions class.

"Um, together, ifthatswhatyouwant," he bumbled, turning red.

She leant down and kissed him on his furrowed brow.

"Yes, I think I'd like sleeping with you, Neville." She got up and pulled a pair of pyjamas out of her rucksack.

"Um, Luna," he said, turning away from her so she could change in privacy, "when you say 'sleep together' you do mean 'sleep' right?"

She moved in front of him and he saw that she had already changed into a pair of cotton bottoms covered in unicorns and an old Puddlemere United tee shirt that was too short and showed an inch of her pale stomach.

"Of course, sleep, Neville, what else would I mean?"

Neville blushed again and merely made a croaking noise that reminded him of his old toad Trevor.

Luna looked at him for a moment before realization flashed across her face, however unlike him, she was not embarrassed.

"Oh, you mean like sex. I suppose 'sleeping together' is a very common phrase for having intercourse. But no, I just meant sleep."

Neville exhaled. He would never admit it to any of his male friends, or probably any of his female friends either, but he had never felt so relieved to hear a girl say she didn't want shag him.

"You aren't disappointed, Neville, are you? I just think it would be rather soon for us to have sex, especially since the most we've ever done is you accidentally groping my bum the other day."

_Oh, well I guess she noticed then._

"No, I'm not disappointed at all," he said, feeling her bluntness pull the honesty from him like she was so prone to do. "I completely agree that we are not ready, I am not ready for…that."

"Sex, Neville. It's called sex."

"Right."

"Say it."

"Why?"

"Because I want to hear you say it."

"Luna, why is it so important that I say it?"

His blush had moved down past his face and was burning into his chest. He was starting to feel a little agitated with Luna. It was as if she was picking on him for being uncomfortable and awkward.

"Because Neville, you are a grownup now and you are in a relationship. How can I take you seriously if you won't even say 'sex' in front of your girlfriend? That's not even the worst word for it!"

_She was right. He could say Voldemort, but not…sex. Blimey he couldn't even think it. Why is shagging so much easier to say?_

He stood up now, took her hands and exhaled a deep breath.

"Luna Lovegood, I think you are great, but I'm not ready to have…sex. Maybe one day we could have sex, and that would be brilliant. But I don't want to have sex tonight. Sex."

Luna giggled and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. He returned her gentle pressure and wrapped his long arms totally around her small frame.

"Good," she said, when they broke apart, "but we still need to work on your intimacy issues, Neville."

"My what?!"

"Come here," she demanded, walking over and sitting on the edge of the double bed.

Neville felt his hands get clammy and his tongue felt like it was swelling in his mouth.

"Why?" he asked stupidly.

"This is what I'm talking about! Neville Longbottom, get over here now!" Luna slapped the mattress next to her and he scooted over to comply.

"Neville, the way you act sometimes makes me think you aren't attracted to me. Don't be my boyfriend just to be polite."

Neville's jaw dropped. _She thinks I don't like her, because I'm trying to be a gentleman. I cannot win. _

"Luna, I am attracted to you. I think you are beautiful and um, sexy, and all that. But, this…this is my first time doing anything with…a girl. I don't want to mess it up and I don't want to do anything that you don't want me to."

She looked up at him with her protruberant eyes and smiled.

"Well then I guess we need to figure all this out together," she said, kissing him more deeply.

Neville returned the kiss easily and brought his hands up to cradle her face. After a few moments, he felt Luna tilt them so that they were lying on the bed on their sides, facing each other.

"Is this ok?" she asked, kissing him gently.

Neville nodded and began kissing her more steadily than he ever had before. Every other time they had kissed, he felt like it couldn't last too long, that she'd get bored or uncomfortable. But this is what she wanted.

He felt Luna take one of the hands cradling her face in her own. She pulled it from her face and began moving it lower. Neville froze with her tongue still resting in his mouth as Luna then placed his hand on top of her chest.

_Good, sweet, Merlin._

Luna pulled away from his prone face to look into his eyes.

"What are you thinking?" she asked him, curiously, his hand still trapped between her own hand and her breast.

"Ummmm, good things," he replied, lamely, then quickly added, "What are you thinking?"

"Good things. I think I'd like us to go this far tonight, is that ok?"

He nodded and she let go of his hand to pull his face crashing down against hers. Neville left his hand lying where she had placed it, feeling her soft flesh move of its own accord under her cotton top.

Luna pulled away suddenly, fingers still tangled in his hair. "You can feel me, Neville, if you'd like. And you can use both hands, on both breasts. I think just on top of the shirt though. Anything else might make me too aroused."

_Luna, too aroused, by him. _

Neville grunted in assent and gently squeezed her breast as they began to kiss again. He couldn't figure out how to access the other one without falling on top of her and he didn't think he could handle anymore without embarrassing himself. After several more minutes of what Neville thought was the best thing to happen to him in a long time, he slowed the kissing to a near stop and pulled away.

"Can I make you dinner? I would very much like to continue this later, I swear, but I am bloody starved."

Luna's face was flush and her lips were swollen and dark pink as she looked into his eyes.

"I think that's a very good idea, Neville," she whispered and he felt his groin twitch uncomfortably.

"Um, great. Did you bring food?"

Luna nodded then swung up to sitting on the bed, seemingly recovered from getting off with him. Neville, on the other hand, took the opportunity to shift himself around so that Luna wouldn't notice how aroused he still was. He was embarrassed just thinking about it.

"I've got some bangers, potatoes and a variety of vegetables from the garden. I also brought some of Daddy's plimpie stew that was leftover in case we didn't feel like cooking."

Neville paled at the idea of eating that man's food ever again.

"No, I'm happy to fix us something. You want to cook out?"

Luna beamed at him and Neville tried his damndest to focus on her face and not her braless chest, jiggling hypnotically under the short shirt.

"Yes, that sounds wonderful! I'll fix us a fire outside, you can pick from these things."

Luna pulled a bag out of her rucksack and tapped it with her wand, enlarging it to its original size.

"Um, ok. Don't you want a sweater?" he suggested, as Neville couldn't help but notice she was already a bit cold.

Luna simply shrugged, smiling dreamily and leaning up to kiss his cheek before exiting through the tent flap.

After she left, Neville flopped back down in the chair and began sorting the food. He couldn't believe what had just happened. His first thought was that he should talk to Seamus about it. Of all his mates, surely Seamus could tell him if he did it right. Neville chuckled to himself as he realized that, in fact, Ginny would be the one he would go to in a case such as this. Just the thought, however, made Neville's chest tight and he decided right then that he was not the type that could discuss these sorts of things with his mates.

* * *

After they finished eating Luna sat next to Neville on one of the logs they procured for their bonfire. He conjured a blanket and wrapped her in it, reveling in the feel of her body pressed against his. It reminded him of late nights in the Room of Requirement, when he, Luna, Ginny and Seamus would wait up for returning DA members.

That was when he first noticed Luna, on Hallowe'en. Ernie and Anthony had the brilliant idea to 'decorate' Alecto Carrow's office for Hallowe'en since she had declared their celebrations too similar to those of the muggle tradition and demanded the feast be cancelled. They had planned to be back by midnight but Neville and Luna had waited up until nearly two in the morning for them to return. It was the first time they had really talked and Neville hadn't thought she was a nutter. In fact, in the warm light of the fire, he had found her beautiful.

Now, sitting in front of the fire again, Neville felt the same closeness and assurance he had then. No matter how worried or anxious he felt, Luna was a constant light in the darkness.

"Are you going to tell me about your new job, Neville?" Luna asked conversationally and Neville started. It was as if she was performing Legillimency on him.

"How did you…?"

"Daddy. Mr. Greengrass owled and thanked him for recommending you for the job. Said you showed spirit!"

Neville blushed at the compliment. He wasn't sure if spirit was enough.

"Oh, well, yes, I've been meaning to tell you all day, actually. I just got distracted."

This had, in fact, been on purpose. Neville had been trying to distract himself from the job offer for an entire day, ever since he got the owl from Greengrass. For some reason, it was much harder to feel assured about a job he really wanted, than a job he felt he had to do.

"When do you start?" she asked, pointing her wand at the flames to increase them.

"Um," Neville began, not sure what he should say.

Luna turned to look up into his face and he sighed. "I haven't accepted it yet, actually."

Luna's face went flat. She never truly frowned, he had noticed, but the small smile that was always playing up her full lips was gone.

"Why not?"

Neville shrugged. He couldn't tell her the real reason without sounding like a wanker. It didn't take a genius to know that one the main reasons Luna was attracted to him was because of his part in the war. Bravery and confidence were key and right now he felt nervous and unsure of himself.

"Neville you are going to take the job aren't you? You are perfect for it."

"You think so?" _Well, so much for appearing confident, wanker, _Neville thought to himself as his desire for reassurance forced itself into the conversation.

Luna smiled up at him before placing a soft kiss on his lips. "You shouldn't be worried Neville. This position will be a piece of cake for you, I can feel it."

Neville raised his eyebrows. "Oh yeah? You using divination for that?"

Luna scoffed and shook her head. " Come on, Neville, you know divination is a load of tripe."

Neville laughed out loud. It amazed him what things Luna deemed to be a "load of tripe".

"Take the job, Neville. Please?"

Neville was quieted by her serious tone. "Um, why?" he asked awkwardly, having been put off by her genuine plea.

Luna snuggled against him again and stared into the fire. He could see the flames reflected in her icy blue eyes. "Because I want you to see that you deserve to be happy. That you can be happy. Just say you will."

Neville squeezed her close and sniffed. For some reason her words had brought tears to his eyes.

"I will."

* * *

_A/N 2: I can't think of anything more awkward than a love scene between Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom! It was fun to write though. I really wanted to show the 'coming of age' __process for the two underdogs of the HP core group. Even though we all know they aren't made for each other they share a bond that is pivotal at this point in their lives. I hope I am capturing that in a way that translates back to you all. _

_Tomorrow is Ginny's chapter and features all the Weasleys, plus others! So many characters!_

_Thanks again for reading!_


	29. Relative- Ginny

_Author's note: Well, this is a heavy one! It was a bit of an emotional roller-coaster for me when writing it. Hope you enjoy!_

_Ratings note: After a few reassurances from readers, I've switched the rating for this story back to T. I will post a ratings warning before any chapters that are only suitable for older teens (16+)_

* * *

**May 31- Relative**

**Ginny**

Frustrated, Ginny yanked yet another dress over her head and threw it in the pile. _Why was it so bloody hard to pick a bloody dress for bloody dinner with her bloody family?!_

Ginny snickered to herself. _I sound like Ron!_

She was just stepping into a periwinkle dress of Luna's when Harry walked in the room.

"I hope that's coming off, not on!" he teased, looking at the dress that was pulled up to her waist now.

"Why? Don't you like it?"

Harry smiled at her with great amusement.

"I like it fine, Gin. But I like what's underneath a bit better." Harry moved to embrace her and she stepped away, chewing her lip nervously.

"What's wrong?"

Ginny sighed and flopped down on her bed, dress still half on. "I don't know! I can't figure out what to wear for tonight!"

Harry sat next to her and placed an arm over her bare shoulders. "Well, I don't know what your plans are, but I was just going to have dinner here."

Ginny glared at him with annoyance. _Why did he always have to tease her?!_

"I am having dinner here! It's stressing me out!"

Harry pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. When he next spoke his voice was calm and empathetic.

"Gin, you don't need to be stressed out. It's just dinner. We eat dinner with them all the time. You don't have to do anything special."

"It is special, Harry! Don't you realize? This is the first time we've all been together since it happened! Even Charlie is going to be here! And Dromeda! And Teddy! And even Hermione's bloody parents! Ugh!" Ginny flopped back on the bed in one of her mini-tantrums, as Harry liked to call them. He lay down next to her now and brushed her damp hair from her face.

"Ginny, love, you need to relax. It's going to be all right. Put on whatever you feel the most comfortable in and just try to have a good time."

Ginny sighed and turned to face him. He was so level headed these days. She wondered if the Auror office was having some sort of effect on him.

"Mum is going to be a wreck today," she whispered, draping a leg over him.

Harry nuzzled her chin. "Mum is going to feed off of everyone else's behavior. If we are all happy and smiling and relaxed, then she will hold it together. At least for dinner."

Ginny kissed him lightly before realizing what he had said. She pulled back and gave him a quizzical look.

"What?" he asked.

"Mum?"

Harry shrugged. "You think it's weird? I mean, I'm the only one living here that doesn't call her that."

Ginny smiled and pulled herself on top of her boyfriend.

"I think it's sweet. Just do me a favor, yeah?"

Harry's hands were already roaming her bare back and barely covered bottom.

"Mm?"

"Call her Mrs. Weasley tonight."

"Why?" he asked halfheartedly, his attention now clearly focused elsewhere.

"Because, she's going to lose it the first time you call her that. Let's keep the tears to a minimum tonight, I think."

Harry looked up into her face. She could see a tinge of pink on his cheeks.

"Sure, whatever you want."

"Potter, you know how much it turns me on when you say that!"

Harry gave her a shifty grin before pulling her face down against his own.

* * *

_It's already happened, I am my mother_, Ginny thought as she rushed around the backyard making sure everything was perfect. In her head, she was distracting herself from the stress by trying to figure out what order she would want everyone to show up in if she had her way. She thought it would be good if the Grangers got here first, that way they would be the main distraction to each member as they arrived. Bill and Fleur should be next, then Percy, as there wasn't any bad blood between those three. Then George? No, maybe she'd want George to be last. Or maybe Teddy and Andromeda last. _Where the hell is Ron?!_

"Ron!"

Ginny finally found him as she came around the side of the house, back by the shed.

_Well, I guess the Grangers arrived first._

Ron was kissing Hermione sweetly, Hermione looking extremely demure in a light orange sundress that managed to be pleasant to the eye while somehow matching Ron's hair. Ginny watched as they pulled apart and Ron smiled so genuinely that her younger self would've gagged at the sight.

"You know you two are my favorite couple of all time, but I could really use some damn help here," she said, trying not to sound too annoyed. She really did love it when Ron was being romantic.

"Yeah, coming," Ron said distractedly, still looking lovingly at his girlfriend.

"Didn't really need to know that, thanks," she said sarcastically and the embarrassing remark succeeded in getting Ron to part from Hermione. They both ran over to her, Hermione looking amused and Ron annoyed.

"What?" he snapped and Ginny glowered at him with all her might.

"You need linens?" Hermione asked hastily.

Ginny pursed her lips and nodded. "Thank you Hermione. Ron, can you please help me move the tables?"

Ron furrowed his brow. "What?! Why can't you just hover them over? You didn't need to interrupt-"

"As nice as it is that you forget my bloody birthday, I'm not of age yet. And while me using magic would go unnoticed by the Ministry, it sure as hell isn't getting past our mother. So help me lift the damn tables! Please!"

Hermione ran into the house as Ron stalked sullenly over to the tent they erected for dinners such as this. Ginny was still amazed that a family could grow to be so large, yet the loss of just one member was still so painful.

Ron hovered the tables into place as Ginny carried chairs. They didn't speak at all, as Ginny knew the tension was too much on both of them. As the two youngest, Ron and Ginny weren't always privy to the inner workings of the rest of the family. It was almost as if their parents had two sets of children; the main five, and then Ron and Ginny.

"Anything else?" Ron asked, the original harshness gone from his voice.

Ginny shrugged, looking around. "I'm sure there is. Chickens?"

"In the coop."

"Gnomes?"

"In with the chickens," Ron said, smiling at her.

Ginny laughed and gave him a light shove then cringed as he reached out to tweak her nose. She saw Hermione walking over to them with a pile of table linens. Ginny guessed she had been waiting for a moment when it looked safe to rejoin them.

"Thanks," Ginny said, and she began unfolding the tablecloths.

"Um, may I?" Hermione asked politely, her wand held up.

Ginny snorted. "Yeah! Anything you want to do with magic, by all means. I'm not trying to get my dress all dirty!"

Hermione waved her wand and the tablecloths and napkins arranged themselves accordingly.

"When did you become such a girl, Ginny?" Hermione quipped, adjusting the tablecloth slightly.

"When did you become such a randy slag?"

Hermione scoffed at the insinuation but then all three of them laughed.

"Whatever joke Ron just told, I reckon it's one of mine!" called George, who was just entering the wards. He had brought along Angelina, and while Ginny was very happy to see her, she hoped that George had told mum she was coming. Extra guests were extra stress.

"Alright, Ginny?" Angelina said cheerfully, pulling her into a hug. "Ready for next season? Ron was telling me you having some sort of training course?"

Ginny smiled. Quidditch was the perfect distraction. "Yeah, I'm really excited to play again. Harry's really only good as a Seeker and a Chaser. He's a rubbish Keeper."

"Hey, when are you practicing? I'm a Keeper!" Ron said, sounding abashed.

"You sure are!" George said, grabbing Ron around the neck and pulling him close to muss his hair.

"Gerroff, twat!"

"Language!" Mrs. Weasley said, hurrying over to the group. "Honestly Ronald, we have guests. How would you like your girlfriend's parents to hear you say those things?"

"Mr. Granger has called me worse than that when I beat him at chess," Ron argued, looking defiant.

"Nevertheless. Angelina! So good to see you! What a pleasant surprise!"

Ginny listened hard for the sign that her mother was not, in fact, glad to see Angelina and this was not, in fact, a pleasant surprise, but it never came.

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley. Is it all right that I came? George insisted."

Mrs. Weasley pushed her lightly in the arm. "Of course! You are always welcome dear. Come inside, I'll introduce you to Hermione's parents. They're muggles!"

Ginny smirked as Angelina was corralled helplessly inside by her mother.

"Bold move, bringing her," Ron said and Ginny had to agree.

George shrugged and sat on the table. "Why? I have a permanent plus one. What does it matter who it is?"

Ginny frowned. She wasn't sure which George she wanted tonight. Though she liked it when he was joking about, things like that said in front of Mum could set her off…

"Yeah, but you two are still pretty new. Mum'll be picking out the flowers for your wedding by dessert," Ron countered, pulling ginny out of her thoughts.

"Wedding?" Ginny asked, perplexed. "Whose wedding?"

"Didn't you hear, little sis?" George said, jumping off the table to give her a squeeze. "Ange and I are an item now. Though, I reckon you are right, Ronnie. I'll go play defense."

And with that George hurried into the house.

"George is dating Angelina?" Ginny said, looking between Ron and Hermione. Hermione had a slightly guilty look on her face. "You knew?"

Hermione chewed her lip. "Well, yes, but I wasn't supposed to tell. You said they were keeping it quiet, Ron!"

Ron flushed. "They were! I didn't know he was bringing her! How is this my fault!?"

"It isn't. It's fine. It'll be fine," Ginny muttered, trying to remember Harry's words of calm encouragement only a few hours earlier. She really wished he'd get back from Andromeda's soon.

"I better go check on Mum and Dad," Hermione said after a moment. Ginny guessed that Hermione was also feeling the stress of the day. She had told Ginny that her parents were insisting on spending more time in the wizarding world upon their return to England. This was their first real look at a pure blood wizarding family and it was a doozy.

"Right, yeah, let's go," Ron agreed, sounding as though he was steeling himself. "Gin? You coming?"

Ginny shook her head. "Nah, I'm going to check a few more things," she said, waving absentmindedly off into the distance.

The couple nodded and walked inside, hand in hand. Ginny wondered who would get married first, Ron and Hermione or her and Harry? _Merlin, she was turning into such a girl! Daydreaming about weddings and…_

"I know zat look!" Fleur said excitedly and Ginny was roughly embraced and then kissed several times by her exuberant sister-in-law.

"Hi, Fleur. What are you talking about?" she said, wiping her hand over her cheeks.

"You are zinking about your amor,_ non_?"

Ginny felt the Weasley flush give her away. "Where's Bill?" she asked, wanting to change the subject.

Fleur rolled her eyes dramatically. "'e is wiz Charlie. 'Shopping'," she said, making little quotations in the air with her fingers. Ginny smirked. Fleur had really grown on her.

"Yes, well, technically, buying drinks does count as shopping doesn't it?"

Fleur clutched a hand to her chest and threw her head back in what Ginny knew was her authentic laugh. It was not as feminine as the tinkling chime she'd often trill in unfamiliar circles.

"Is Percy 'ere yet?" Fleur asked in a hushed voice and Ginny furrowed her brow.

"No, why?"

Fleur pursed her lips and looked off into the distance.

"No matter. I will go inside, I zink. Leave you to your day dreamings!"

Ginny rolled her eyes but smiled. "Right, have fun!"

Fleur smiled brilliantly and glided into the house. Before Ginny could have any more "day dreamings" however, another person had arrived. It took Ginny a moment to realize who this person was, as he looked different somehow. Percy was carrying a bottle of what Ginny assumed was wine in one hand, and a bouquet of flowers in the other. He seemed to have gotten a haircut, but something else was amiss. He must've been preoccupied because he walked right past her on his way inside.

"Oi!" she called and he turned abruptly.

"Oh, hello, Ginny," he said, somewhat rigidly. How Percy came from the same family as the rest of them, Ginny would never understand.

"Hiya, why do you look weird?" she asked bluntly. Riling up Percy was a favorite pastime.

Percy huffed. "I do not look weird! Wait, do I? Are you just taking the piss? Fleur said, well…"

Ginny watched Percy pull on the crisp button down shirt he was wearing when she suddenly realized.

"You're wearing muggle clothes!" she exclaimed, hopping off the table with a laugh to get a better look at him. Percy appeared exceedingly uncomfortable so Ginny backed off a bit. "Don't worry, you look fine. But what's this about? Trying to impress the Grangers?"

"The who? No, um, I'm not trying to impress anyone. Fleur made me buy these things. I mean, she insisted. I wanted a change. What are you doing out here anyway?" he added in what Ginny assumed was an attempt to get the attention off of his appearance.

"Greeter," she said easily, still taking in her brother's new look. If she didn't know him, this man would almost look…cool…

"Well, I like it. But I'll warn you, you are one of the last to arrive so get ready for the attention. Oh, wait, here come the other two!" Ginny ran over to where Bill and Charlie were strolling up the pathway. Charlie was carrying a large rucksack while Bill held several boxes.

"You really did go shopping?" she said in disbelief.

"Gin-Gin!" Charlie yelled, throwing his rucksack in the dirt to catch her as she jumped into his arms. The earliest memory Ginny had of Charlie was him picking her up when none of her other brothers could. She gave him a peck on his scratchy face and wriggled out of his grasp.

"What'd'ya get me?" Ginny said to Bill, poking her face in around the boxes.

"Dessert, mostly. We actually went to get Charlie something that didn't have burn holes in it. You spend too much time with dragons and not enough time with people, that's the problem!" Bill said to her other brother.

Charlie just shrugged. "It's not a problem for me. Is Ron wearing glasses?" he added, spotting the ginger man under the tent.

"I actually think that might be Percival himself!" Bill said with a laugh before shouting. "Oi! Perce! Get over here!" Ginny watched as Percy shifted around awkwardly under the cover of the tent before walking stiffly to where they were standing.

"Looking fit my man!" Charlie said punching Percy in the arm so hard that his glasses went askew. Percy pushed them back up the bridge of his nose with his finger.

"Good to see you Charles, Bill."

"Why am I Charles but he's Bill?" Charlie asked indignantly.

Percy shrugged. "That's just what Mum called you when I was little. That's how I see you."

"Well I used to see you as a specky little git, but things change don't they?" Charlie argued poking Percy in the stomach now.

"Can we go inside please? Fleur is going to be hacked off if these _Cream Brullies_ are messed up!" Bill said, shifting the boxes in his arms.

The three oldest brothers made their way inside as Ginny looked back down the path.

"Come on Gin, what are you waiting for?" Bill called back to her.

"Um, I'll just be a minute."

"What is Harry not here yet?" Charlie said sarcastically and she glared at him.

"Let's go," Bill ordered and the other two men followed him into the house.

_What was taking Harry so long?_ He said he was going to get a haircut and then was headed to Andromeda's, he should've been the first back. Ginny found herself getting worked up and took several long, slow deep breaths, still staring down the pathway.

"Ginny? What are you doing?" a familiar voice called from behind her and she spun around. Harry was walking down the steps from the house, holding a half empty bottle of ale.

"What am_ I_ doing?! What are _you_ doing?! I was waiting for you to get back and the whole time you are in there and, and, _dammit Potter_!" she shouted as he looked to be suppressing a smile.

"Ginny, we took the Floo! You didn't expect us to Apparate did you?"

Ginny looked at him with confusion. What had she been expecting? She couldn't think clearly. Ginny held out her hand for the bottle. Harry chuckled lightly and gave it to her.

Ginny tilted it back and swallowed the contents in two gulps.

"Better?" he said, still smirking.

Ginny sighed. "I guess so." Harry reached out for her hand and gave it a light squeeze. "You want to come in now? Everyone is here. It's all going well."

Ginny looked at the door with some trepidation but nodded and let him pull her towards the house.

"Hey, did you know George is dating Angelina now? I can't believe it!" Harry said quietly as they walked up the stairs and she turned to face him. She wasn't sure why, but something about his conspiring tone made her laugh and the tension of the day melted away.

* * *

Dinner had gone off without a hitch and Ginny was amazed that at no point did anyone seem to be putting on a good face or just rolling with the punches. The additions of Angelina, Teddy and the Grangers made Ginny feel like there were new possibilities on the horizon for everyone.

She watched now as George and Angelina fussed over the sleeping baby and smiled. Hopefully it worked out for them. Ginny didn't want to think what would happen if they broke up and George lost another member of his close circle.

Hermione and Ron were now making quick work of breaking down the tent and tables while Hermione's parents looked on in awe. Ginny was impressed by how easily they accepted many things about the magical world. Hermione being a highly logical person, it was only natural that her parents, too, would not accept things that couldn't be explained. But it turned out that Ginny's father had more questions for them than they had for him. Ginny wouldn't admit it to Harry, but she had been keenly interested in their conversation and had spent most of dinner listening in about dentistry, airplanes and her father's new obsession, the compact disc.

Ginny looked around the yard and found Harry talking happily with Fleur. Her first instinct was jealousy but then quickly she realized how ridiculous that was. Fleur was her sister-in-law, not some trollop trying to steal away her boyfriend. Ginny chuckled aloud to herself.

"Something funny?" Charlie said, walking up behind her.

Ginny shook her head and leaned back against her broad, strong, older brother.

"I miss you, Chaz," she teased.

Charlie snorted. "Merlin, you remember when the twins tried to make those names stick? Chaz and Willie? Sounds like a circus act!" He wrapped his arms around her tightly and she could see the scratches and burns that covered his forearms being cast deeper in the light of the bonfire her father and Mr. Granger had just lit.

Brother and sister sighed in unison. "I miss you too, Gin. I miss everyone."

"Then visit more."

"I want to, but it's hard to get away. Dragons are demanding."

Ginny pulled herself out of his embrace and turned to face him, hands on hips, her hair blowing wildly in the wind. The look on Charlie's face could only be described as incredulous.

"Ok, all right. Save it! Just…blimey. You are scary, Gin-Gin. I'll visit more! Happy?" Charlie had his hands up in surrender and Ginny smiled slightly.

"Not yet. When are you going to visit?"

Charlie looked around the yard for an answer.

"I dunno, once a…month?"

Ginny raised her eyebrows.

"Ginny, I can't do much more than that! I live in Romania for Godric's sake!"

"Ok, fine. Once a month _and_ all special engagements!"

Charlie looked to be about to argue when another deeper voice cut in.

"Please tell me my little sister didn't just say the word engagement," Bill said, running a hand through his long hair with a grimace pasted on his heavily scarred face.

"She did, but it's obviously not what you think," Charlie added with a grin.

"Why obviously?"

"Because if this little whizz-bang was engaged, Mr. Potter over there would have a Firebolt rammed straight up his-"

"Did someone say Firebolt?" George said, bounding over with Angelina close behind. "I was just saying that we actually have enough solid players for some Quidditch. What d'ya say?"

Ginny smiled. "I'll get Harry and Ron."

She jogged over to where the rest of the family, save Mrs. Weasley, Andromeda, Fleur and Teddy, were sitting around the bonfire.

"Nighttime Quidditch anyone?" she asked, excitedly. Ginny watched as twin smiles broke out on the faces of Harry and Ron. Even her father seemed enthusiastic.

"We can play full teams, I think! Well, maybe one beater and two chasers per side, yes?" her father said and Ginny's brow furrowed. She wasn't quite following his maths but figured she'd wait and see who was playing.

"We're meeting over by the broom shed," she said and followed behind Harry and Ron, who had already began running to where the others were waiting.

Ginny was quite surprised when they were joined by Fleur, Mr. Weasley and most of all, Percy, who had never once joined in a family game of Quidditch as long as she'd lived.

After a fair amount of bickering all around the teams were formed.

Harry had Bill, Ron, Fleur, and Mr. Weasley while Ginny had Charlie, Angelina, Percy, and George.

"This is going to be brutal," George whispered to her with a devilish grin.

"How so? You think they stand a chance?"

George barked a laugh. "No! Even with Percy we're going to flatten them!"

And with that George grabbed his bat off the grass and flew up into the air. Ginny followed behind with a grin.

* * *

In the end it had in fact been Percy who won the game for them. He had insisted that he be Seeker, even though Ginny had won a championship as one two years previous. Ginny had consented in an effort to keep the peace and because she agreed that she and Angelina would flatten Bill and Fleur as Chasers.

Ginny watched as the other Weasley men congratulated Percy on finding and nabbing the snitch before Harry, who she was amused to see looked a bit hacked off by the whole thing. She walked over and nudged him in the ribs.

"Don't be a sore loser," she teased.

"I'm not!" Harry protested, "But, Merlin, _Percy_?"

Ginny couldn't help but laugh. It was true. Of all the people to beat Harry Potter at Quidditch, that was not the person she expected.

"What made you play him anyhow? I was hoping to play against you."

Ginny smirked. "That was Percy's argument. He said you knew all my moves and would be able to figure out what I was doing. Plus, he said when he used to watch us play he'd always spot the snitch well before anyone else did."

Harry crossed his arms, still looking sore. "Wonder why he never tried out for the game," he mused, watching now as George and Percy were animatedly discussing what Ginny could only assume was the game they had won together.

"Too much pressure, I think. You saw Ron; he was a mess when it came to playing in front of the twins. Imagine perfect Prefect Percy out there playing for Gryffindor."

Harry's brow furrowed and Ginny gave him a squeeze.

"It's just a game, love. Besides, had he tried out he never would've been chosen over you."

Harry snorted and looked over at her. "Do I look that put out?"

Ginny kissed him on chin. "A bit."

"Oi, break it up, you two! How do you stand it, Dad? Harry all over your little girl like that?" Charlie said loudly, obviously already feeling a little drunk from the firewhiskey that was now being passed around.

Mr. Weasley's lips pursed in a way Ginny had only seen a few times, when he was extremely displeased with one of her older siblings, usually Fred and George and just this last year, Percy. "I stand it just fine, Charles, thank you."

Charlie shook his head and threw back the rest of his drink. Harry, looking sheepish, patted her shoulder and then jogged over to where Ron and Hermione were standing. Ginny felt a swoop of annoyance at her oft absent brother for trying to stir something up about her and Harry. He didn't know what kind of relationship they had. _How dare he-_

"Gin," a deep, calm voice said next to her and she jumped suddenly. Bill was standing next to her, also holding a glass of amber liquid that he was sipping slowly. He was peering over at Charlie, who Ginny saw was now talking with a rosy-cheeked Mr. Granger.

"He doesn't mean anything by it, you know," Bill went on, moving closer to her.

Ginny huffed. "He does. I know what you all say to Harry when I'm not around. Always taking the piss. He's a good guy."

Bill laughed. "Yes, I'd say saving the wizarding world would qualify a person to be a 'good guy'."

"I wasn't talking about that! I meant with me. You all don't need to be so hard on him."

"Right, like you all were to, ahem, _Phlegm_?"

Ginny's skin burned with embarrassment. She tried to think of something she could say that would save her but nothing came to mind. This fact only made her feel worse.

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it Gin. I don't blame you. You were a little kid then, it was only right that you'd be protective, at least until you got to know her. Charlie doesn't know Harry like the rest of us. I didn't even really know him until this year, when he stayed with Fleur and I. He doesn't understand."

Ginny watched her other brothers sitting around the fire with Harry, Hermione and Angelina. The Grangers and Ginny's father had also retired and Ginny noticed that Ron had taken this opportunity to sit closely to Hermione, her head resting contentedly on his shoulder. Charlie was clearly pissed now as he swayed where he sat next to George.

"When the twins were born," Bill said quietly, bringing her back, "Charlie and I each picked one. We said that we were going to raise them to be a small version of us." Ginny waited for the story to continue but her oldest brother merely stared off into the distance, lost in thought.

"And?" she finally prompted, and Bill looked back at her suddenly. He was smiling but his eyes were glassy. "I picked George."

Ginny looked back over at the bonfire. Angelina had now moved to sit next to George again, her arm around his shoulders. In his lap, was Charlie's head. Her second oldest brother had fallen asleep sitting on the cold ground leaning up against George's legs. George was not smiling or joking now. He was staring into the flames while stroking Charlie's hair short red hair.

"What about Percy?" she said finally, sniffing back the tears that threatened to spill over.

Bill finished his drink and shrugged. "Percy has always been an outsider. He went from being the baby that Mum doted on to the middle child that no one ever needed to worry about. When the twins came along Mum and Dad had their hands full. I ignored him as well, at first. It wasn't until we were at school together that I realized Percy and I had a lot in common. Plus I had given George up as a bad job. He was never going to be a little me."

Ginny watched Bill absentmindedly trace the scars that marred the left side of his mouth as he looked over at where his younger brothers were sitting. Percy was standing back behind the rest of the group; drink in his hand, staring into the fire.

"I don't think you are too much alike," she said, brow furrowed.

"You don't know me that well, Gin," Bill said, placing a hand on the small of her back and walking with her towards the fire.

"Yeah and whose fault is that?" she demanded, feeling defensive for some reason.

"Mine. And I want to change that, truly. I'm going to be around more from now on. I promise."

Ginny smiled up at him and he nodded slightly, moving over to stand next to Percy while she made her way over to where Harry was sitting next to Ron and Hermione.

"Hey you three," she said, sitting down on Harry's lap.

Ron raised his eyebrows at this display but said nothing.

"Hey, where've you been?" Harry asked, wrapping his arms around her waist.

Ginny looked over at where Percy and Bill were now chatting quietly in the shadows.

"Here."

* * *

_A/N 2: Well, I hope that was easy to follow. I've never written so many characters in one chapter before. No wonder JK sent the older siblings away, there were too many to keep track of!_

_The next two chapters are also Weasley heavy with Ron having the next chapter and then Angelina getting her first chapter after that! I have to tell you I'm extremely happy to be done with May! I have a lot in store for June and a lot of new characters are going to be introduced. _

_Thanks again for sticking with me! _


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